Search Health Apps

There are 384 apps available in English

Smoking-cessation app that allows moods and cravings for a cigarette to be recorded. QuitSTART is a product of Smokefree Teen (SfT)—a smoking cessation resource for teens created by the Tobacco Control Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute in collaboration with tobacco control professionals and smoking cessation experts and with input from ex-smokers.

Allows a user to send a telephone message, text message, and GPS location to the emergency services in Iceland.

“Iceland is not very densely populated, and it is quite frequent for callers in emergency situations to have no idea about their location. One such incident occurred last Fall; a tourist died, unable to tell rescue crews where he was located. This incident sparked the idea to develop the ‘112 Iceland’ app. The app uses the GPS service available in most smartphones to assist the emergency call taker in locating the caller. The app’s ‘Emergency’ facility takes the current GPS position and sends it via SMS to the 112 Centre, and calls 112. The app’s ‘Leave a trail’ facility is for travelling in the back country, with a danger of avalances, floods, or just simple falling, and where GSM coverage can be sketchy. When one presses the ‘Leave a trail’ button, the current GPS position is sent to the 112 centre, stored in a database, and can become the starting point of any search.”Tomas Gislason, 112 Iceland | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

“As more phones have apps like these available to be downloaded and carried everywhere, more people will use them. The advantages of this app: it helps in managing the chaotic, and helps with structure and performance, providing reminders and key messages to maintain structure and organisation. The disadvantages of the app: apps with voice-active systems like this one need to have a British voice, rather than an American one, as this often puts our service users off their use, and often sound patronising.”ADD-vance | PatientView survey, July-August 2011

Intended to help people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) track and monitor their daily activity levels.

“The app is a fantastic way for people to feel in control in managing their condition. Having the app on their phone makes their charts and monitoring information more portable and accessible—which, we hope, will encourage more meticulous use of this self-monitoring tool. The information recorded can then be discussed with their clinical teams, and the data used to inform treatment plans. This makes each patient’s treatment highly individualised, and patients can really feel that they are taking charge of their care.”Northern CFS Clinical Network, UK | http://bit.ly/P26kjp

"Provides news and information on the diseases in which our Association specialises (maladies inflammatoires chroniques intestinales, or MICI), which are Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The app shows the location of toilets. It also allows networking between patients, through the forum."Representative of the Association François Aupetit (AFA), France | PatientView survey 2012-2013

“The ‘WaveSense Jazz’ meter will be the first medical device to connect directly with the Apple iOS platform. A new download cable, demonstrated at the 2010 American Diabetes Association conference, will plug the ‘Jazz’ meter into the phone, so that users will eventually be able to automatically download their glucose data into the app. Visually, and in terms of functionality, it beats the competition hands down, if you ask me. It’s big, clear interface has been upgraded to provide more functionality: super-easy tabs for tagging your readings and making notes on them; graphical views in which important results are brightly highlighted; and the ability to tap any data point on a graph to immediately see details, notes, and tags on that individual result. You can also easily email charts of your results to your doctor or family members in basic CSV file format. Blood glucose results are color-coded, so that the highs and lows pop right out at you, so to speak. My one big gripe to date is the need for manual data entry.”Diabetes Mine, USA | http://bit.ly/bX7qLW

“Very good app. But you should put in an option like ‘Drank on full stomach’; ‘on half-full stomach’; ‘on empty stomach’, so that it could be more accurate.”Empowered consumer, Facebook, Italy | http://on.fb.me/NkhnXl

Portable heart-rate monitor shaped as a case that fits around a mobile phone

“The ‘AliveECG’ works in conjunction with the free AliveECG app and is designed for medical professionals, patients and health-conscious individuals to record, display, store and transfer single-channel electrocardiogram (ECG) readings. These recordings could be saved on the mobile device or shared with others (such as your doctor) via email. AliveCor’s Heart Monitor has been used in several clinical trials, and demonstrated accuracy and efficiency to produce a single-channel rate-and-rhythm assessment. Arrhythmia Alliance members have the chance to purchase the app with an exclusive discount of £5, using voucher code ‘hrc2013a’ when bought from Amazon. A percentage of the sale will also be given to Arrhythmia Alliance.”

“The ‘AliveECG’ works in conjunction with a free-to-download iPhone app and is designed for medical professionals, patients and health-conscious individuals to record, display, store and transfer single-channel electrocardiogram (ECG) readings. These recordings could be saved on the mobile phone or shared with others (such as your doctor) via email. AliveCor’s heart monitor has been used in several clinical trials, and demonstrated accuracy and efficiency to produce a single-channel rate-and-rhythm assessment. Arrhythmia Alliance members have the chance to purchase the app with an exclusive discount of £5, using voucher code ‘hrc2013a’ when bought from Amazon. A percentage of the sale will also be given to Arrhythmia Alliance.”

Displays letters of the alphabet, words and numbers which children (including those with learning disabilities) can trace over, to help in learning to write.

"Another alphabet learning app that is easy for very young children to use, but has the same limited options common in these learning and tracing apps."Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region (LDANR), Canada | PatientView survey 2012-2013

Helps people in the UK who are homeless (and their providers of social care) to locate resources within a given geographical radius of their phone.

“We have often found that many homeless people (and the professionals working with them) are unaware of the many places offering support in the country today. As the majority of homeless people who Amber supports have mobile phones, we felt that a free app was an effective way of helping to signpost charities and other organisations offering services.”Charles Drew, CEO, Amber Foundation, UK [reported in local UK media] | http://bit.ly/MGmvqt

Game involving characters modelled on birds and pigs, and which is said to feature physics-based gameplay.

“It is a genius app, addictive in a healthy sense, and providing quality ‘mindfulness’ (in the current jargon). Very absorbing. Great for anxiety, in particular, but also for depression. There are probably some excellent self-management apps for people with mental illness, but I’m not aware of them. The scope is enormous in terms of social connection, information, and coping resources (for example, soothing, distracting, etc).”Star Wards | PatientView survey, July-August 2011

“Argus is good, but takes a lot of battery life, and you have to leave it running constantly for it to be effective. I like the way it keeps the information in one place, and measures different things. But it takes time to input the data each day.”Person living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, UK | PatientView survey, August 2014

Provides information on how older people, and people with a disability, can find solutions to a wide range of activities in the home that might present them with problems.

"AskSARA is an award-winning tool that provides information and advice to individuals who may be experiencing difficulties with daily living activities or conditions. The tool is simple to use in three easy steps, and, at the end of the process, the user receives a tailored report, with help, advice and suggestions about which daily living aids may provide a solution. The mobile web app has been developed with the user in mind; you don’t have to worry about downloading or updating an app. Just visit the AskSARA website, and it will recognise if your device is compatible, and adapt its format as appropriate. This way you can be confident in always receiving the latest information, advice, product suggestions, and their prices."Disabled Living Foundation, UK | http://bit.ly/16uN4n0

"The Asthma Society of Ireland has launched Asthma Coach, a new free app for iPhones and mobile website for all Smartphone devices aimed at helping people better manage their symptoms. It’s essential for people with asthma to have an asthma management plan and to review it regularly with their healthcare professional. The Asthma Coach will let them do this easily in a way that fits into their busy lifestyle."Asthma Society of Ireland, Ireland | http://bit.ly/122Kmmm

Asthma Health developed by Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Lifemap Solutions

A personalised tool that enables people with asthma to gain insight into their asthma, avoid triggers, adhere to treatment plans, and take charge of their health.

“I love that the app sends me reminders so that I no longer forget to take my meds. I can see how many times I use my rescue inhaler and keep track of my peak flows for my pulmonologist…“One of my favorite features on the app is all the informative articles it provides. Now, I always feel that I am up to date on the latest asthma care. I have found that not many other mobile health studies do this.”Barbara T, asthma patient, Boston, MA, USA | http://apps.icahn.mssm.edu/asthma/participant-stories/

Allows a user with asthma to record event information (such as environmental conditions, symptoms, treatments, and vital signs) that may be relevant to asthma.

“I’m using asthmaTrack, which is a bit better than AsthmaMD. You can customise your zones, etc, but it does have an annoying quality—you have to put in ‘None’, ‘Light’, ‘Medium’, etc, for symptoms. I’d rather have a number rating, or something else, as, often, I don’t feel like this allows enough discrimination. I’d never put 'Severe’, unless I was having a full-on attack. But this leaves me with only ‘Light’ and ‘Medium’—not really enough for a proper description. Plus, you can’t add triggers (and it doesn’t have all of mine). But, otherwise, it is OK. It does have a proper chart that records your actual peak-flow (PF) readings, rather than weird estimates. Also, it has sections in which you can write what you like, so you can say more about symptoms, triggers, etc. I’ve not yet found an asthma app I’m really happy with, though. I wonder if any of the developers of the existing apps asked asthmatics what they wanted?”Asthma UK Forum, UK | Source is no longer available

Provides information on recognising signs of a stroke, and techniques of assistance.

"This app is practice in the pocket. It educates the public about stroke, and about identifying the signs of a stroke. It gives information on relevant French national patient associations, including France Accident Vasculaire Cérébral (AVC) [France Stroke] and the Fédération Nationale des Aphasiques de France (FNAF) [French National Federation of Aphasia]. And it lets you make online donations."Representative of Tekneo, France | PatientView survey 2012-2013

Displays exercises suitable for people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

“We have tried to make the programme as clear, straightforward and enjoyable as possible. Included in the app are: a recommended warm up; written and visual guides on 31 exercises; 23 videos spanning all five sections; and audio clips on all exercises.”National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS) | http://bit.ly/ornxKg

Diabetes management app intended to simplify diabetes management, and to be used by adolescents and younger people with diabetes.

“Enables easier blood-sugar recording, and is an easier way to monitor blood-sugar changes over time. The developer created the app to help those with both type-1 and type-2 diabetes manage their blood sugar more effectively. Users of the app can record their blood-sugar levels anywhere they are, even if they forgot a pen. The app also produces a graphic display of blood-sugar readings over time. This enables users to see trends that might be hidden within logs of blood-sugar data.”Battle Diabetes | http://bit.ly/Qq9C0o

App to help people with haemophilia to set goals, track bleed rates and locations, and get treatment reminders.

By knowing the facts, setting goals, working with your HTC [Haemophilia Treatment Centre] and making good choices, you can minimize the impact of bleeds on your life…Get the Beat Bleeds smartphone app to track your bleeds, and monitor your progress toward reaching your ABR [Annual Bleed Rate] goal.Coalition for Hemophilia B, New York | http://bit.ly/2wIVk6H

Allows carers, healthcare professionals, parents, and teachers to track the behaviour patterns of children, and to present them in graph form.

"Available in the Education and Utilities sections in iTunes. Just search for the word Autism or Behavior Tracker Pro. Behavior Tracker Pro is an iPhone/Ipod Touch app that allows Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), behavioral therapists, aides, teachers or parents to track behaviors and graph them. The app was designed to support the behavioral treatment plans for children with autism. However, it can be used to track behavior in any field."Autism Society of Minnesota, USA | http://bit.ly/15A6bgx

Bemyeyes creates a live video connection between a visually-impaired person and a sighted volunteer when they need remote help.

“Be My Eyes is an extremely powerful platform whose time has come…My go-to resource for those times when greater independence can best be achieved by knowing when and how to ask for help.”Bill Holton, American Foundation for the Blind | http://bit.ly/2nhW91b

Provides real-time feedback, and visual and audio instructions, on how to learn and practice hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

“This British Heart Foundation app teaches hands-only CPR. It has a training video, and also uses the technology in the phone to allow you to measure the rate and depth of your practicing CPR with your phone on a cushion or bed. ”British Heart Foundation (BHF), UK | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Simplified phone ‘home’ screen for older people, and for people with visual impairment (and even for anyone who dislikes numerous phone icons).

Recommended by AGE Platform Europe (AGE) and by the European Disability Forum (EDF) as part of the 2011 Vodafone Foundation’s ‘Smart Accessibility’ competitionRecommended by AGE Platform Europe (AGE) and by the European Disability Forum (EDF) as part of the 2011 Vodafone Foundation | http://bit.ly/OWoFOo

Interactive quiz/debate about social and ethical issues relating to the brain.

“Is being in love just a chemical reaction? Is technology harming our brains? Is it OK to enhance brain function with cognitive enhancers or ‘smart drugs’? These are just some of the areas of debate presented in our free app, which explores social and ethical questions about the human brain. The app is designed to be interactive; students can vote, and share their view with peers. There is also an area for teachers, which gives suggestions for how it can be used in the classroom.”Wellcome Trust, UK | http://bit.ly/OTEWKE

Provides advice helpful to people with anxiety, debt, stress, or work problems.

"I have used Big White Wall (BWW) in the past, having been given a code from the UK university I attend. This entitled me to three months' free membership. Alternatively, BWW is free from some of the UK's NHS Trusts, as well as being free for serving UK armed forces' personnel, veterans and their families. Membership for people who don’t fall into those categories is £24. One of the best aspects was the wall itself - this allows you to express yourself visually when sometimes there aren’t the words to express how you’re feeling. Self-administered clinical tests, guides, tips and articles to improve wellbeing are also available, along with feedback suggesting next steps in self care and management of how you feel."TheSite.org (Youth Support Charity), UK | Source no longer available

“We have developed a new app to identify blackouts which require medical attention. It is hoped that the app will go some way to prevent misdiagnosis, and help identify potentially fatal blackouts for medical attention. The app provides us with a new medium to reach patients and professionals, to ensure that anyone presenting with blackouts receives the correct diagnosis, the appropriate treatment, informed support, and signposting to the appropriate medical professional.”Syncope Trust And Reflex anoxic Seizures (STARS), UK | http://bit.ly/RhipWf

“The ‘Bladder Pal’ app, created by Ronald Yapp, MD, Concord Hospital, Dartmouth Medical School, was revealed at the America Urological Association (AUA) meeting, May 2012. This free mobile app has a ‘Voiding diary’ and an ‘AUA symptom questionnaire’. The announcement was a hit in the Interstitial Cystitis (IC) Facebook community—in less than 12 hours, there were 84 likes, and 23 comments, on a post about the app.”Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA), USA | http://bit.ly/MYwF19

“Records your own blood pressure monitoring, and the trends. Helps in measuring your own blood pressure, and in working out the trends.”Patient group specialising in autism-spectrum disorder, Spain | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Allows a user to record diabetes-related personal information, including blood glucose levels, carbohydrate consumption, and medication.

"Consider Blue Loop a hub for caregivers of children with diabetes. Parents, doctors, and other caregivers can update a child’s information—with, say, the most recent blood glucose reading or lunch time carb grams—which the other caregivers can view in real time. Customizable text messages remind kids of diabetes-care activities and alert parents when a child has taken action."Diabetes Forecast Magazine, American Diabetes Association (ADA), USA | http://bit.ly/Yq4g8d

“The first MPT product on the market is BlueStar by WellDoc. You cannot get it in all states. BlueStar is designed for adults 21 or older with type 2 diabetes who are not on an insulin pump and are not pregnant. Your doctor writes a prescription for the service. A pharmacy fills the prescription. Your doctor may prescribe BlueStar directly or may ask your doctor about getting started. Once prescribed, you will download the BlueStar application from your app store. After you download, you will use an access code to register and get started with quick in-product training. To use the system, you enter information about your treatment plan. The automated system then tells you what to do. For example, if you enter a fasting BG value that is within target range, you will get a positive message that reinforces your treatment plan. BlueStar allows you to send your doctor a summary of your progress before your next visit. Your healthcare team uses the report to learn more about your diabetes and determine any changes to your treatment plan. BlueStar does not provide emergency help.”American Diabetes Association | http://bit.ly/1pV9yXA

"Most people know how to reduce their risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke but they don't realise that the same healthy lifestyle choices may also lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other kinds of dementia. The idea is that what is good for the heart is also good for the brain."Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive, Alzheimer's Society, UK | http://bit.ly/1C2V26t

Information on how to check breasts, and on lifestyle choices for decreasing the risk of breast cancer.

"The BreastAware app presents an easy way to understand how to become more breast aware, and aware of lifestyle choices that can increase or decrease your risk of breast cancer. There are a number of videos on the app offering advice on screening, and on how best to check your breasts. There’s a reminder facility to do so regularly, and, at the push of a button, the ability to make an appointment for our screening, counselling, or a complementary therapy session."Action Cancer, Northern Ireland | http://bit.ly/xhSvpO

Allows the user to track and anonymously report examples of bribery. The app has a special category focusing on bribery in healthcare worldwide.

Recommended by AGE Platform Europe (AGE) and by the European Disability Forum (EDF) as part of the Vodafone Foundation Mobile for Good Europe Awards 2013.Recommended by AGE Platform Europe (AGE) and by the European Disability Forum (EDF) | http://bit.ly/1hzyGR9

"Brush DJ app makes brushing your teeth fun and effective. For those of you with iPhones or iPads – check out this great new app that makes sure you take enough time to brush your teeth: Brush DJ - it's free."Brandywine Health Foundation, USA | http://bit.ly/12I0YFv

Cost: Free to the patient. Pricing for the medical professional depends on patient numbers

An app for medical professionals to purchase, and then to pass on to patients who are living with a mental health problem.

“Following a trial in London, it is being rolled out across 10 areas in the UK. I’ve been sent a bunch of positive quotes about the app. But don’t bother with those, as it’s probably better for people to see for themselves what it’s like.”Adult Care blog, Community Care, UK | http://bit.ly/xzgRV6

"Free app, with great GPS software that is very easy to use. Has a simple, daily activity target that connects with friends for extra motivation. The Australian version is testing 'Burn&Earn' software that rewards users by saving money at nearby retailers if they achieve their daily target. We at Diabetes Australia have just partnered with Calico (CALories In, Calories Out), and will be helping to promote the free app to a wider audience. iPhone only at the moment. Android is in development for 2014."Diabetes Australia | PatientView survey, November 2013

“SparkPeople offers a free diet app for the iPhone and Android phones. The app includes a food and calorie tracker, customised daily meal plans, and a database of nutrition information on more than one million foods.”Livestrong.com, USA | http://bit.ly/O9SfDv

Weight- and nutrition-management app that allows dietary goals to be set.

“You can record meals, water intake, exercise, and weight loss with this comprehensive app, which works with ‘MyNetDiary’ online. It includes a library of more than 400,000 foods (including restaurant picks), and a barcode scanner for easy identification and logging of packaged foods. Searches with ‘Calorie Counter’ are fast, thanks to the app’s ability to search as you type.”Diabetes Forecast article in Healthy Living Magazine of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), USA | http://bit.ly/VMKZ2s

Allows a user to find nutritional information about food, and to track meals, exercise and weight.

“I've been using ‘FatSecret’ for about six months, with no problems. Things I like about it: good mobile app; can set nutrient tracker to show net carbs, instead of total carbs; has an iGoogle widget, so that I can make quick updates from my home page; large database of foods; easy to use. What I wish it could do: Better reporting. Would love to be able to view full nutritional data, so I could track vitamin and other nutrient intake, instead of just calories, fat, protein and carbohydrates.”Blogger on the AskMetaFilter site, USA | http://bit.ly/fnEuv2

Provides patients (and their carers and families) with information on up to three cancers (breast, lung and prostate), supported by interactive illustrations, photos and videos. Now only available via website. The app version is no longer supported.

Patient information on cancer and treatments from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

“Cancer.net app is a wonderful resource for patients. It provides information on specific cancers, provides a place to write questions, write/record answers, list medications, record symptoms and more.”Cindy Chmielewski, (@MyelomaTeacher), a multiple myeloma survivor and patient advocate. Member of the Patient Empowerment Network | http://bit.ly/1WQfoNp

An app to help people with cancer to track symptoms and side effects over days, months and years.

“A new app called Cancergraph is available, which can track all of your treatment symptoms and side effects when going through cancer. When dealing with treatment, there can be many taxing symptoms and side effects, and keeping track of them all for future discussions with your doctor, albeit important, can be quite difficult. It’s crucial to have an accurate record for your doctor, as this can affect your treatment options. This new, free app, created by Malecare, allows you to keep record of it all. With the app, you can select 5 symptoms from a list of over 200. When a symptom is selected, you then rate it on a 5-point scale. All data is placed into a color-coded graph so you have it to show your healthcare professional at your next appointment. If you need to add more than five symptoms, you can use the journal feature to write anything you deem necessary to remember and share. You can add 5 symptoms each time you open the app, and the app can hold years of side effect records. You may also attach any photos related to the data you input. You can also record when you have good days with no symptoms, since this information is important as well. The app can send updates of clinical trials, and lets you opt to share your information for research purposes, withholding your identity.” Prostate Cancer Research Institute, a US-based charity which aims to improve the quality of prostate cancer patients and caregivers lives by supporting research and disseminating information that educates and empowers patients, families, and the medical community. | http://bit.ly/2yxhd9z

Carbohydrate-counting app intended to help children with diabetes gain the skills required to count carbohydrates.

“I downloaded the app, and I have to tell you—I really like it a lot. The app has a ‘Food guide’ divided by food groups that list the carbohydrate count and serving size when you touch the image on the screen. It doesn’t matter what brand of pump you use, or if you use multiple daily injections—the app is all about carb counting, and one of the things I really like about it is that it helps everyone. Not only is the app great for kids and adults with diabetes, but I think it’s a wonderful teaching tool for siblings and friends of children with diabetes, or children who have a parent with diabetes. Carb counting is a family affair. I spent an inordinate amount of time playing the game, and I surprised myself with what I did (and didn’t) know about carb counting. I also like the fact that you can add pictures of your favourite foods. All of us like different foods, and if you can add your kids’ (or your) food favourites, it makes life easier for everyone. The app includes four carb-counting games, and the last three require the player to unlock the previous level in order to play. I don’t know that when I first downloaded the app (and from what I've read, neither did some others).”Diabetesaliciousness blog, USA | http://bit.ly/T9XIYc

The sister application "NutriCheck" is recommended by the German Diabetes Association. [Review states: contains thousands of relevant in daily life food with extensive nutritional values, vitamins & minerals constituents. All important ingredients of our food to be considered scientifically sound. diabetesDE | http://bit.ly/2bgv2n1

Allows the user to count the amount of calories and carbohydrates contained in food and drink by consulting the app's 1,400-plus photographs of food and drink items.

“You look up the carbohydrate value of foods you are eating, so that you know how much insulin to inject. You can also keep a food diary, and track meals you have eaten. ”Local patient group specialising in diabetes, UK | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

"This free mobile platform and website is designed to help people stay on schedule with their medications, with special features such as ‘Care4Family’ and ‘Care4Charity’, to support and motivate users to take their medications regularly. Approximately 50% of patients with chronic illnesses do not take their medication as prescribed. There are many reasons people don’t take their medications, but the most commonly-cited reason is that they simply forget. With Care4Today, people can set up reminders for any kind of prescription or over-the-counter medication, nutritional supplement, or any other activity. The platform uses secure, two-way messaging on mobile phones, and each reminder message prompts a response that is recorded in the user’s adherence report. Users can view reports summarising adherence, and share the information with their healthcare provider."HIV Positive Magazine, October/November 2013, page 3, USA | http://bit.ly/19O4AaR

CareTRx developed by Gecko Health Innovations, was a spin-out from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (now acquired by the Israeli company Teva; Teva plans to integrate the service with its respiratory products.)

“During the course of my mom’s illness, I tried every trick in the book to keep myself organized – from old-fashioned pen and paper and Post-it notes to Excel spreadsheets…

…CareZone is a robust tool that will help caregivers organize everything from appointments and tasks to meds, contacts, and miscellaneous notes – all in one place. Customizable sharing of contents is a great advantage, simplifying communication and coordination between family members.

…Support seems to be readily available; I sent a question via email and received an immediate, very courteous and complete response.”

App rewarding Canadians through loyalty points for learning how to live more healthily

“Through the Carrot Rewards app, which is being rolled out across the country, Canadians can earn rewards from loyalty programs like Aeroplan and Scene when the user performs tasks such as, filling out an easy online quiz on smoking cessation." Diabetes Canada is proud to have partnered in the development of the Carrot Rewards app.”Patient organisation, Diabetes Canada | http://bit.ly/2eYIRbp

A diary of pain felt by the user, to help explain the pain to doctors.

"An app that acts as a pain diary. I've found it to be incredibly useful in tracking possible cycles, and in remembering important days of pain (and possible causes). I'm finding it to be an invaluable resource. You can rate your pain, do colour-coded mapping on a human form to mark out where your pain is, and its severity, and detail specific things going on. They've also included a way now to send that information to your physician(s), if you so choose. When you've completed entries, it will chart them, so you are able to detect, for example, if a new medication is helping or not, or if a stressful event caused more damage than you would hope."Living With Fibromyalgia - Online Support Group, USA | http://bit.ly/1edoHmy

Relies on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help the user overcome anxiety and depression.

“ 'CBT Keeper' is a mobile app that teaches simple techniques to help you overcome depression and anxiety. It’s built upon the principles of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), a proven treatment for depression, anxiety, and many other mental illnesses. CBT works because it helps you change the negative thoughts and behaviours that drag you down.”Self-injury.net, USA | http://bit.ly/1L68CyP

Treatment reminder to help people who have cystic fibrosis (CF) manage their medication regime.

"CF MedCare is a free app designed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals to help people with cystic fibrosis with their therapeutic regime. It sends you an alert when it's time to take your medications and captures compliance data."Cystic Fibrosis Ireland | Spectrum [Cystic Fibrosis Society newsletter], issue 40, July/August 2014, page 14

Allows a user to pick a charity (from a provided list), and raise money for it by sponsored cycling, running, or walking.

"Exercise does a body good, but with this app you could put your workout to even better use. Pick one of nearly a dozen charities, click whether you plan to run, walk, or bike, and get moving. The app tracks your distance, and the Charity Miles company enlists sponsors to be able to reward your chosen charity with a donation for your hard work."Diabetes Forecast Magazine, American Diabetes Association (ADA), USA | http://bit.ly/Yq4g8d

The main benefits are the great ease of use for people with disabilities (e.g. MS). Clear buttons and simple interface. Excellent for more elderly people as well who can use the well thought out interface to personalise the content. However it would be nice to be able to customise the size of the icons.Walton-le-Dale Primary School in the UK | PatientView entry form, May 2015

Recording tool to help patients gain the most from a visit to a doctor.

"Cancer patients plagued by ‘chemo brain’ or other memory issues have a new tool to help them at the doctor’s office. 'Chemo BrainDoc Notes' is a new free smartphone iOS and Android app that helps patients remember important questions for their next doctor's visit, and what was said during the appointment. With the app, recalling important information is never easier. ... The app provides patients with an easy way to record questions, either by voice or text, for their next doctor visit. Patients can also record their doctor’s visit in a voice memo, and play it back later. ... Chemo Brain Doc Notes was created by Jenny Ahlstrom, multiple-myeloma survivor, wife, mom of six, and founder of mPatient Myeloma Radio, a live weekly Internet radio interview show interviewing the top doctors and researchers in the field of multiple myeloma. ”My goal is to make life a little easier for those with cancer because I understand the needs firsthand"."CrowdCare Foundation Inc, USA | http://bit.ly/1oxSkOW

Timer for parents who perform manual chest physiotherapy (PT) on a child who has cystic fibrosis.

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“Chest PT (free): This is a timer app for manual chest physiotherapy (PT) that allows users to set total position, minutes per position, with alerts to let you know when to change positions. When all positions are completed, your child gets a “good-job” screen, which can be customised with your child’s name on it.”Cystic Fibrosis Newsletter 2013 [patient forum at Children’s Hospital of Michigan], USA | http://bit.ly/1uLx1xP

A resource designed for parents and caregivers who want to understand why their child is 'fussy' and what they can do to improve mealtimes.

“Benefits are: It contains information on 5 common feeding pitfalls, in a WHAT, WHY, WHAT TO DO format. It explains the WHY a behaviour is occurring, which parents have said is really good and fills a gap in their knowledge. Many feeding resources currently do not explain the psychology and physiology around children's feeding behaviour. It explains not only WHAT to do, but with tangible, interactive tools to help. It allows parents to track their child's eating behaviour, but also their own well-being. This can be very useful for anxious parents who can become entrenched in feeding problems and not objectively see improvements. If parents learn healthier, more adaptive ways to feed their children, then the health of children will be improved. This is both in terms of what is eaten (increasing variety and liking fruit & veg) but also HOW it is eaten (less coercion so children are allowed to learn to regulate their own intake, something that is important in the battle against obesity). It represents a useful preventative resource, that can be used before weaning to educate parents on children's developmentally predictable responses to food, BEFORE problems occur. It's easy to use and an app may be a better medium to reach less engaged families/parents, than having them come and visit their health visitor. It's free to download, so available to all. Drawbacks are: the app does not deal with nutritional information e.g., how much carbs, protein etc a child has eaten / should eat per day.”

Review from the developer: a community of mothers at Loughborough University Centre for Research into Eating Disorders, UK | PatientView Form, 2014

Searches the National Institutes of Health clinicaltrials.gov database for cancer clinical trials.

“Novartis is a bit of an exception. They actually have an android app ... ‘Clinical Trial Seek’ ... which does a reasonable job of accessing the ClinicalTrials.gov database, and therefore gives you ALL available clinical trial options, rather than only those related to their products (as most other drug company sites do).”‘Chaotically Precise: Life, Love, and Melanoma’ blog, USA | http://bit.ly/1gez9oK

Enables patients with CML to track their medication, receive reminders and track their results.

“I’ve downloaded the App for my iPhone and have found it easy to use and very clear; the reminder function is excellent. Whilst there are several Apps that support CML patients this is the only one, to my knowledge, developed by a patient advocacy network.

I know the people who have developed it and I trust them, very important with medical data of this nature. This App gets my seal of approval and a big thumbs-up from me. Well done CML Advocates Network.”

Aims to teach the user self-help tools of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) as a means of challenging irrational thinking that might otherwise lead to anger, anxiety, depression, relationship conflict, or stress.

“On the plus side: it wonderfully walks individuals through a cognitive-behavioural therapy technique. It allows the user to create a record of their thoughts, and work through how they can challenge those thoughts, to come up with a better outcome. This therapy can be used to alleviate symptoms for several mental health issues. The down side of the app is that it does not connect with other apps, and only offers the one technique of addressing thinking patterns and challenging thoughts. There is not enough patient education. It would work much better in concert with web apps, such as ‘Beating the Blues’.”Patient group specialising in helping patients navigate national healthcare policy, USA | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

coldAlert developed by Environmental Research Group, King's College London

Alerts people in Sussex, England, about the expected arrival of cold weather.

"coldAlert warns vulnerable individuals of cold-weather events which can affect their health. The alerts inform people with reference to the UK Department of Health's cold-weather-plan alert thresholds."Sussex Air Quality Partnership (SAQP), UK | PatientView survey, November 2013

App designed for teens and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, to help with daily tasks and activities when parents or teachers are not around for support.

“The Identifor Companion app uses a human avatar named Abby to help young adults and adults with autism when parents, teachers, and aides are no longer around to answer questions and help with various needs throughout the day.

The app was developed by Identifor…a website and app designed to help parents and individuals understand their own, or their child’s skills, abilities and interests using games.”Autism Speaks, a US-based not for profit organisation that aims to advance research into causes and better treatments for autism spectrum disorders and related conditions. | http://bit.ly/2zTN1a4

Contains nutritional information on calories, fat, protein, fibre and sugars, as well as carbohydrate.

“ ‘Cook & Count Carbs’ is a new mobile app for anyone who wants to keep a close eye on the amount of carbohydrate they are eating. … It’s aimed primarily at people with type-1 diabetes, who need to match their insulin doses carefully with the amount of carbohydrate they eat. But the developers say it’s also suitable for people following a low-carb diet, or athletes who want to monitor their carbohydrate intake. Cook & Count Carbs is a very neat and clever app, which is super-easy and enjoyable to use. All you do is find your ingredients from the searchable database of 2,000 generic (non-branded) foods, key in the weight you’re using (in grams or ounces), and build them into recipes. You can also increase the database yourself by adding in your own ingredients as you go. Once you’ve finished inputting your recipe or meal, the app totals the amount of carbs per recipe and per serving. … The strength of Cook & Count Carbs is that it homes in on carb-counting, which is a crucial part of managing daily life for people with type-1 diabetes, and those with type-2 diabetes, or gestational diabetes, who need insulin. The app’s strength, though, is also its weakness, because it only supplies carbohydrate values—no information on calories, fat, protein, fibre or salt is provided at the moment (although this may be built into future versions, in which case the app would be a really formidable resource). Because of its narrow focus, Cook & Count Carbs is probably not the best choice if you are aiming to lose weight to manage your type-2 diabetes, where other factors such as fat, fibre, salt, and above all, calories, are important.”Diabetes Diet Choices, UK | http://bit.ly/1gc3ud0

Identifies toys as being potentially suitable for children with cerebral palsy (CP).

“Attention all parents of kids with cerebral palsy (CP), and therapists. Brian Hoare (occupational therapist at Monash Hospital) has launched his free new app. It matches toys with upper-limb goals. This will save us hours and hours of searching online and in store for the correct toys. Please show your support by downloading.”Rye’s World: Life with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy, Australia | http://on.fb.me/RYmuB6

In the event of a mental health crisis the Crisis Card app provides a one-button-press ‘call for help’, to reach out to the user's support network without having to face a phone call.

"In the event of a health crisis the Crisis Card mobile phone app provides a one-button-press ‘call for help’, so you can reach out to your support network without having to face a phone call, you can communicate your needs without having to talk, and share your location without having to know it yourself. The Crisis Card app also supports you in managing your health and wellbeing by providing information and signposting to the relevant resources available. For daily use the app provides an area to easily record and track your state of wellbeing over time."Sun Network, UK | http://bit.ly/1FXSWpf

"This app is meant for people who stutter. It uses delayed auditory feedback (DAF) and frequency-shifting auditory feedback (FAF) to help speakers control their speech fluency, pitch and rate – with the goal of improving confidence and speech skills. DAF delays the voice, while FAF changes the pitch. While the app cannot yet be used for phone calls, it can be used with Bluetooth or the Apple earphones with remote and microphone." Central Coast Children's Foundation (CCCF), USA | http://bit.ly/18Rz4cU

Allows the user to remain connected with the DAFNE Online support network for people with type-1 diabetes who have attended the ‘Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating’ (DAFNE) course.

“If you have diabetes, and have done the DAFNE course, this app is great. You can keep a diary, and it also has a comprehensive list of carbohydrate values. ”Patient group specialising in diabetes, UK | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

“Looks interesting—it’s Polish. Tried it out on my new tablet. It doesn’t cater for exenatide or liraglutide medication. But it does seem to cover pump use (I don’t use a pump, so I can’t comment on its ability here). You can input your meal carbohydrate count, and injection times, and other medications. All access is through secure (https) websites, and it generates a mobile activation code which is emailed to you, and you don’t supply your name, or other personal details. You can access your data from your PC, and your mobile device synchronises with their website when you connect, which is good. There is a fledgling forum, as well.”Blogger on DiabetesSupport.co.uk, UK | http://bit.ly/RKXQjW

Training and educational app for use with the Dexcom 7 glucose-management sensor.

“For all Dexcom users out there, they came out with a mobile app. It’s available for Android and Apple. You'll no longer have to carry the user guide around (or call your husband). It has trouble-shooting, tutorials, reordering, and contact numbers on the app. Just thought I’d share.”Blogger on 1happydiabetic.com, USA | [Source no longer available]

App to improve fine motor skills as part recovering from injury or stroke, or for learning development skills.

“Dexteria is the only app of its kind to assess and develop fine motor skills, reflexes and handwriting ability and takes full advantage of the iPhone and iPad multi-touch interface. Therapeutic hand exercises build strength, control and dexterity using three formats.

‘Tap’ uses your hand to first generate an on screen map of your fingers and thumb, which it then uses to generate finger tapping exercises. As your thumb remains stationary on the screen, the finger points you created light up one at a time and you are required to tap them. This is a timed exercise, increasing in complexity over a series of levels.

‘Pinch’ requires the use of two digits to pinch images on the screen. Each pinch sees the image disappear, with an end goal of clearing the screen completely. Again, complexity is increased over a series of levels to include more and moving objects.

‘Write’ requires the use of your finger or a stylus to trace lower case and capital letters, as well as numbers.

More recently, Dexteria introduced the option of multiple users and the generation of reports. Assessment and progress can be charted and saved in a report for each individual, providing a touchstone for future practise.

An excellent app for anyone who is looking to build and refine fine motor skills.”Elizabeth Ratcliff, app specialist and blogger for the Stroke Foundation, an Australian charity that partners with the community to prevent, treat and beat stroke. | http://bit.ly/2ihMM4O

Diabetes data-management app that allows the user to log and track factors which influence blood-sugar level.

“With most of the apps out there for diabetics, blood-sugar control and tracking are the most important features. Well, ‘Diabetes Buddy’ goes at it using a different approach—trying to help users manage their diabetes by tracking the factors that influence our blood-sugar levels. This app really comes across to me as a proactive type of app, and not just another logbook. Great app, overall.”Free Diabetes Resources | Source no longer available

An app that provides general support for living with diabetes as well as helping you find and manage your healthcare services.

Diabetes Australia has released their promo video for their new app! The app was promoted on World Diabetes Day at the conclusion of the Walk to Work Campaign in Wynyard Park, Sydney. Want to check out the app? It has fantastic information to assist with your diabetes management. Go to the Apple Store or Google Play and search for Diabetes Australia.Diabetes NSW | http://bit.ly/1WBs9ML

“I use ‘Diabetes Diary’, look at my trends, and work out the dose myself. I must admit it came in useful at the clinic, when the dietician was trying to persuade me the benefits of eating lots of carbohydrates. I could scroll through, and show her what happens when I overdose on the carbs.”
“The other one I use is ‘Diabetes Diary’, which allows me to log all my data during the day. The carbohydrates are in grams. Plus, you can enter all the foods at each meal. It gives all the usual graphs and charts for analysing the data, and will also allow you to back up the data to your PC. I find it good for looking at trends. Some of the others I have looked at seem to geared solely to the USA.”Two bloggers on Diabetes Support Forum (DSF), UK | http://bit.ly/RJMI6Q

“I have diabetes, and I am a geek. So, of course, I find a few diabetic apps. One of these is ‘Diabetes Log’, written by Chris Ross. He has type-1 diabetes, and wanted an app to record his carbohydrates, glucose reading, and insulin dosages. And that’s as much as this app does. Chris is offering the app for free, while he work out the bugs (I didn’t find any), and plans to charge a small amount when he feels that the app is ready.”Blogger on TuDiabetes, a social network of the Diabetes Hands Foundation (DHF) | http://bit.ly/ULWMdX

"Even if you don’t have a Telcare blood glucose meter that wirelessly sends test results to this app, you can take advantage of Diabetes Pal by manually entering your blood glucose readings. The app also logs your medicine and food, allows for note-taking, and—with what is probably the greatest draw for users without a Telcare meter—plots data on a line graph, pie chart, and bar graph. The downside: text in the logs can be a bit small."Diabetes Forecast Magazine, American Diabetes Association (ADA), USA | http://bit.ly/Yq4g8d

Diabetes management app for anyone with diabetes (whether taking insulin, other medications, or just involved with diet and exercise). Dietary advice and good information is provided.

“Offers tons of reports and graphs, and the developers seem open to feature suggestions. My only dislike is that it can’t automatically download pump/meter data.”Blogger on TuDiabetes, a social network of the Diabetes Hands Foundation (DHF), USA | Source no longer available

“The app is aimed at helping people with type-1 and type-2 diabetes better manage their condition, and is an example of how technology can help people with diabetes minimise the risk of complications. It is designed to be quick and simple to use, taking the daily chore out of logging levels such as blood glucose, carbohydrates and calories. The app was designed by a team that included user experience professionals, clinical specialists and people with diabetes, to help you manage your condition. Although there are a number of diabetes tracker apps available, the Diabetes UK app has some unique features to give it the edge. It is the first diabetes app that allows you to track how you are feeling, and see whether this affects your levels. Save specific records as ‘talking points’, to help you recognise patterns, and use them as reminders in healthcare appointments. This unique feature will help you get the most out of appointments by setting an agenda of your concerns.”Diabetes UK | http://bit.ly/pmjMZB

“With this app, you can easily monitor your blood-glucose measurements. In addition, you can also specify the amount of insulin, and write notes (I’ve set the following notes: Before breakfast; After breakfast; Before lunch; After lunch; Before dinner; After dinner; Bedtime; Night). The app is also suitable for bolusing. The screen is divided into five sections, which can be defined by you. My five are: blood-sugar levels; insulin dosage; statistics; setup; and ‘More’. Glucose values and insulin input are two main menus, with the following input options available: blood-glucose levels; feature quantities; medications; laboratory results; sporting activities; weight; and pump data. You can view all the values in clear statistics in ‘Graphs’. Very nice, too, is that graphs are displayed in the transverse view when the phone is rotated. Values entered can be sent via email, or uploaded to a server. Conclusion: for me, the €5 is absolutely worth the money. This app is very clear, and easy to operate. It is available in German. Nine out of ten points.”Blogger on Diabetes-Blog.at, Austria | http://bit.ly/Pi1bIK

“Counting the number of carbohydrates you have in a meal may take many ‘years’ with the aid of only a log-book and tables. Fortunately, there is now an app that can assist: ‘Diapp’. You simply select the products that you eat. The app then calculates the total carbohydrates, and the number of units you need to inject. You can also add products. Expansion to other platforms [beyond Apple] is at the planning stage. Meanwhile, this app is not available for Android devices. One of our readers pointed us to a similar app on Android: ‘HelpDiabetes’.”Diabetesvereniging Nederland (DVN) [Netherlands Diabetes Association], Netherlands | http://bit.ly/UyMNyc

DocReady developed by Innovation Labs initiative in partnership with Neontribe, Social Spider, FutureGov, Enabled by Design, UK

Doc Ready helps you get ready for the first time you visit a doctor to discuss your mental health

"DocReady is something I've found really helpful to use before going to medical appointments as it helps me make a clear list of what I want to talk about which helps me during the appointment."Person living with mental health issues, UK | PatientView Survey, October 2014

Allows doctors and medical centres to be located (including the closest to the user).

“Find professionals and medical centres near you, check out reviews from other users, and contact them by phone or online appointment from within the app. Features search by map, with the option to filter by specialty, insurance company, or availability.”Asociación Sonrisas y Vida, Spain | http://bit.ly/1jdHNtT

“Helps patients on multiple medications to take their medications on time. More than half of the patients with whom we are familiar use the app.”North Shore Prostate Support and Awareness (North Shore PSA), Canada | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

“ ‘Dr.Drin’ has been developed very carefully, respecting the principles of user-centered design, in order to ensure patient comfort in using the application. It is both a means of ensuring compliance with medication, and a means of improving patient-doctor communication.”Dr.Drin, Italy | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Dragon in the Attic developed by Four girls from Horbury Primary School; with support from West Wakefield Health & Wellbeing Ltd, a network of six neighbouring GP practices in Wakefield, West Yorkshire

An App for 8 - 12 year old boys and girls to help them mentally cope with bullying.

Dragon in the Attic was the winner of a local school competition, where “one hundred Year 6 students were involved in the project, creating 20 initial concepts that were shortlisted to six with the help of some peer to peer judging and feedback from their Skype in the Classroom mentors and local GPs. The students presented their health app concepts to a panel of ‘Dragon’s Den’ style judges. Dragon in the Attic was the winning app concept and presented by the winning team from Horbury Primary School.”Horbury Primary School and West Wakefield Health & Wellbeing Ltd. | http://bit.ly/258GQZx

Speech-recognition app that allows the user to conduct Internet searches on the phone through voice commands.

“Apps certainly have the potential to make life easier for deaf people—though very few products are addressing this market. This particular app can be very useful for deaf people in some situations. At present, though, it only seems to be available in Apple.”National Association of Deafened People (NADP), UK | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Duchenne A and E pack developed by Nvisage for team including patient organisations and charities such as Action Duchenne and Duchenne UK

App to help Accident and Emergency staff to understand the specific needs of patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)

“This vital new app gives people with Duchenne and their families and carers a way of taking all their medical information with them wherever they go.

Please download the Duchenne Accident & Emergency File app by searching for Duchenne A&E in the search box for your phone or tablet. Information can be entered via the website http://duchenneemergency.co.uk/ or directly via the app.

It is really important that everyone keeps this information up-to-date and that it is checked after every consultation.

This project was created by Duchenne UK and Action Duchenne, Alex’s Wish, DMD Pathfinders, Duchenne Now, The Duchenne Research Fund, Harrison’s Fund, PPMD and MDUK.”Duchenne UK, one of the team of Duchenne patient and groups in the UK that collaborated on the app. | http://bit.ly/2ENAeeI

Diary that allows people with asthma or allergies to document their symptoms and potential environmental triggers.

"The aha! Allergiezentrum Schweiz, MeteoSchweiz, and CK-Care provide allergy sufferers, carers and any person who is interested with this app. It is a helpful tool that allows the user to get an accurate diagnosis."aha! Allergiezentrum Schweiz, Switzerland | PatientView survey, December 2013

“Earning rewards for tracking your blood sugar? That’s the new twist provided by ‘EndoGoddess’, a diabetes app from Dr Jen Dyer, an Ohio-based endocrinologist who is deep into social media. Her app allows patients to earn points for every day they log their blood sugars four times. The points can be cashed in for songs on iTunes. Cool. I found the interface for tracking your blood sugar very simple (almost too simple). There are only four slots to enter your blood sugar: breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime. You can enter carbs and insulin as well, but you can only enter your insulin dose in whole numbers. For pumpers, that’s a no-go. As far as we could tell, there was no way to backdate entries. In ‘Reminders’, you can set alarms to remind you to test your blood sugar. But they are pre-programmed at specific times, which you can’t change to your own preference. Unlike other diabetes apps, there are no graphs to review, and the only ‘history’ is the number of points you’ve earned in past weeks. Despite not being visible on the app, there are graphs you can share with your doctor or anyone else (a common feature in glucose-logging apps, these days). The app does also offer an educational component, with basic info on insulin, other diabetes meds, exercise and visiting your endocrinologist, plus recipes (although the recipes don’t come with carbohydrate counts). This app seems quite useful for newly-diagnosed people with diabetes, type-2 diabetics, or people who tend to test their blood sugar at the same, very specific, times of day (it’s not dynamic enough to handle the variety of life with type-1 diabetes). The app itself is nicely designed and easy to read and use. It misses the opportunity to customise, and provide enough information for the patient to see problem areas at a single glance. (Note that this app just came out two weeks ago, so we’re hoping for those additions soon.) The prospect of earning points for iTunes songs is a pretty tempting deal, though. Nice to see an endocrinologist getting into the apps game.”Diabetes Mine, USA | http://bit.ly/pteHMx

“Epocrates helps me make sure my medicines don’t interact with each other. I’m on many medications. I have used many more health apps, but this one [and two others I have recommended to this PatientView survey] are the only ones I felt were worth the price, or I found myself using in the long run.”Person living with arthritis and Crohn’s disease, USA | PatientView survey, August 2014

Utilises Tangram, a Chinese game in which several shapes can be assembled to make larger shapes, to teach a user how to make more complex shapes (such as a rabbit) in several levels of difficulty.

"The latest application has more to do with aging than with children. Tangram can significantly help to keep the mind active, so more and more initiatives practising this game in stimulation programs are being designed to tackle diseases like Alzheimer's."Serdonmas, not-for-profit community home help, Spain | http://bit.ly/16ZG6Hs

Shows citizens of EU Member States how to apply for a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

“The European Commission explains how to use the European Health Insurance Card through an app for smartphones. Anyone can download the app, which contains information about the card: who to contact to request it; how to use the phone numbers for emergency calls; what healthcare and expenses are covered by insurance; and the app explains the procedures for reimbursement.”Il Consiglio Nazionale dei Consumatori e degli Utenti (CNCU) [The National Council of Consumers and Users], Italy | http://bit.ly/MGfWlD

“iCoach helps young people people quit smoking for good, but at their own pace. iCoach is easy to use, is personal to the user, and works to help the young person think about quitting, and to quit. The young smoker is initially presented with a brief questionnaire that determines his or her stage in a five-phase stop-smoking process. iCoach guides the young smoker through a series of comprehensive interactive tools. It also provides tailored feedback, advice, techniques, tasks, as well as mini tests, and sends the user daily email-tips as reminders, and for motivation. At the end of each month, iCoach compiles a consultation report which gives an overview of the user’s progress until they reach the final phase. Speaking about the availability of the iCoach app to young smokers, Kevin O’Hagan, Health Promotion Manager, Irish Cancer Society, said “Data shows that up to 22% of boys and 25% of girls aged 15-18 years report that they have tried cigarettes. Giving up smoking is the single biggest thing you can do to improve your health. We live in a ‘digital communications, smartphone’ age, so we are confident that a free app to assist young smokers in stubbing out their last cigarette will be well received, and will assist in addressing current gaps in service provision for young smokers.”Irish Cancer Society, Ireland | http://bit.ly/1aBOEZt

“Having a well-kept record of infusions can help the team at your haemophilia treatment centre get a better picture of how your clotting factor is working. For people on prophylaxis, being able to spot a trend of bleeds can help you and the team develop a plan to prevent them. If you’re using clotting factor on-demand, you might not realise how many bleeds you’ve had in a year, until you see all the data together. Having an infusion log in an electronic format has many benefits. Prophylactic users can log multiple infusions over a span of dates with a few simple clicks. Too busy to log onto your home computer? Record the infusion on your mobile infusion-log app while you’re on the bus (unless you’re the driver). The ‘FactorTrack’ app has an alarm feature that alerts people to take a dose. The alarm can be set for a certain time for each infusion needed. Options include: set days per week (such as Monday, Wednesday, Friday); once a week; every day; or every other day.”Arizona Hemophilia Association, USA | http://bit.ly/MSIHZQ

“The ‘Fear of Flying’ app is based on a scientifically-proofed treatment method. The main objective is to provide fearful flyers with a simple tool in anticipation, for before and during the flight. The app informs about the following: aerodynamics; cruise flight; flight safety; sounds and sensations during take-off and landing; and turbulence. Practical audio exercises help to lower stress. When the flight stress reaches a panic level, users of the app can push on the special ‘panic button’ control. This button helps (in audio and written form) to decrease the stress level immediately. The app is a help—not a substitute for treatment. Fear of flying can be composed of different, underlying complaints which, not seldom, need psycho-therapeutic treatment.”VALK Foundation, Netherlands | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

For people with fibromyalgia. Tracks pain, fatigue, sleep, mood, medications, and flare ups.

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“This app is a sleep tracker, a symptoms tracker, a medications tracker, and an alarm system. It is also a journal, in which the user can log the severity of the pain, the location of the pain, the type of the pain. The app has charting, a report-writing facility, and allows printout and email. ”Fibromyalgia Association (FMA) UK | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

“The FoodSwitch app for smartphones (iPhones, Androids), is currently only available in Australia and is helping thousands of people make healthier choices in supermarket aisles.” George Institute for Global Health, Australia | http://bit.ly/1jERp04

FoodSwitch New Zealand developed by George Institute for Global Health, Australia; Bupa Care Services New Zealand; National Institute for Health Innovation (NIHI), University of Auckland

“This month, a smartphone app called ‘FoodSwitch’ is being launched by the University of Auckland’s National Institute for Health Innovation (NIHI). The free app lets you scan the barcodes of packaged foods using your smartphone’s camera. FoodSwitch then gives you colour-coded ‘traffic-light’ information about the food’s fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt content. You’ll be able to see at a glance whether a food has high (red), or medium-ish (orange), or low (green) amounts of total fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt. FoodSwitch will also give you a list of similar foods that are healthier choices, and it lets you share all this via social media. Professor Cliona Ni Mhurchu, who leads NIHI’s nutrition research programme, says people have been bewildered by confusing food labels for too long. “Research shows that people like traffic-light labels and can use them to make healthier choices. FoodSwitch is a tool that can help them do this”. FoodSwitch was originally developed in Australia by the George Institute for Global Health, and is being launched here with Bupa Care Services NZ. Auckland researchers have tailored it for New Zealand shoppers with over 8,000 packaged foods in the database. What’s more, shoppers can help increase this number; if you scan a barcode not in the database, you’re prompted to take three photos of the product’s package for researchers to add new products to the app.”Consumer, New Zealand | http://bit.ly/1qlvUGM

FoodSwitch UK developed by George Institute for Global Health; Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH); Medical Research Council (MRC) Human Nutrition Research (HNR); British Heart Foundation (BHF) Health Promotion Research Group; Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford

“Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH), along with other UK researchers, have launched a new free and impartial smartphone app that will allow you to scan in your favourite food-and-drink products, and see their nutritional values, plus healthier alternatives. The app provides ‘at a glance’ colour-coded nutrition information for over 80,000 products. Allows customers to switch to healthier products based on established nutrition criteria. Developed by leading health experts, and supported by 13 organisations, ‘FoodSwitch’ allows users to scan the barcode of over 80,000 packaged food and drinks sold across major UK supermarkets using their smartphone camera to receive immediate, easy to understand, ‘traffic-light’ colour-coded nutritional information, along with suggested similar, healthier products. It is now easier than ever for consumers to reduce high levels of fat, salt and sugar in their families’ diet. When the barcode of a food or drink product is scanned by a smartphone, ‘FoodSwitch’ instantly searches the database and identifies healthier products by comparing the overall nutritional value of the product to existing government criteria. The overall nutritional rating takes into account a range of different factors important to general health including fats, sugars, salt, protein and fibre. ‘FoodSwitch’ gives customers the perfect opportunity to get to grips with what the labels mean, and to better understand what is in their food. The app colour codes each product by the content of four important nutrients: total fat, saturated fat (saturates), sugars and salt. Red – (high) try to choose products with less red circles. Amber – (amber) this choice is OK, but going for choices labelled green is better. Green – (low) the more green circles, the healthier the choice.”Blood Pressure UK (Blood Pressure Association), UK | http://bit.ly/1jEWZQ5

Provides nutritional information on foods, with the aim of helping a user with diabetes to lose weight, and to manage diet.

“This app could be your shopping companion on the next trip to the grocery store. You can scan barcodes, search for products, and browse categories to find foods you’re shopping for. By selecting a food, you’ll get a list of health pros (for instance, 100% whole grain), and cons (for instance, loaded with high-fructose corn syrup), and can compare it to similar products. Keep track of products you eat regularly by ‘liking’ a food. Then, next time you hit the store, you can pull up a ‘My likes’ list of foods you might want to buy again.”American Diabetes Association (ADA) | Source no longer available

A tool to help people at risk of osteoporosis to calculate their bone fragility.

"The FRAX® tool is a freely-accessible online calculator to help evaluate patients at low, medium, or high risk of fragility fractures based on clinical-risk factors (with or without the use of bone mineral-density values). FRAX® calculates an individual’s 10-year probability of hip fracture and 10-year probability of a major osteoporotic fracture (forearm, hip, shoulder or spine fracture). The information helps physicians make informed treatment decisions in the course of a clinical evaluation."International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), Switzerland | http://bit.ly/17zI4wR

A family-focused app that aims to engage children and parents and help them make healthy food choices

"Unhealthy eating is a leading risk factor for chronic disease in Canada,” says Charlotte Comrie, CEO Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada. "We know how important nutrition is and yet our children’s health is threatened; this puts children and adolescents at risk for premature heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some types of cancer.”

Informed by research, this…app has been carefully crafted to provide a fun and interactive experience for children and families to eat healthily together. A combination of the words “fruits” and “veggies,” Froogie offers tips and reminders to promote daily fruit and veggie intake to help meet age-appropriate goals. Up to nine animated Froogie characters can be earned over time and help encourage families to live life on the veg!

“It’s a struggle to get one of my children to eat fruits and vegetables,” says Kimberley Hernandez, parent of three children.

“Froogie is going to be a great way to encourage him and get him engaged in mealtimes. I love the animated characters!”Co-developer of the app, the patient organisation Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada | http://bit.ly/2lcPWYq

Allows people with a digestive disorder to record and track factors relevant to their intestinal health.

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Allows people with a digestive disorder to record and track factors relevant to their intestinal health.

“Patients who provide their physicians with accurate information about their health status, get better care. It’s that simple. However, when you are asked to report symptoms, medications and bowel patterns, you are likely relying on your memory. In some cases, this means trying to recall very specific details about your health that could be weeks (or even months) old. That’s tough to do accurately. It doesn’t have to be that difficult. The Canadian Digestive Health Foundation (CDHF) has developed a sleek and powerful smartphone app to help you track and share that critical information. We’re proud to introduce you to ‘Gi BodyGuard’. With a few quick clicks, this free app for iPhone and Android empowers you to quickly, privately, and intelligently create extensive, up-to-the-minute summaries to share with healthcare teams at your next appointment. … With the added functionality of reminders for drinking water, taking medications and renewing prescriptions, you are ready to communicate effectively with your physician, to regain and maintain your good health.”Canadian Digestive Health Foundation (CDHF), Canada | http://bit.ly/1on7S9O

"See the big picture of your IBD management. Have you been staying on track with treatment? Are certain foods triggering symptoms? Is your IBD affecting your everyday life? See how everything comes together, with GI Buddy reports — one of the many features available with your GI Buddy tracker."Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA), Inc, USA | http://bit.ly/J5jvTJ

Designed to be used during the annual ‘Global Corporate Challenge’ (GCC) walk, a virtual event intended to promote personal fitness and better health. Android app no longer seems available.

“Tracks your daily steps to encourage you to walk 10,000 a day. The app makes it much easier to keep track of your walking. No downsides, except that the step count does not sometimes correlate with steps taken.”C3 Collaborating for Health, UK | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Complementary logbook app that, when combined with the developer’s proprietary ‘Sync cable’, and various manufacturers’ compatible blood-glucose meters, saves a user with diabetes from having to manually enter blood-glucose readings.

“Just started using the app. The ‘Sync cable’ is easy to install. Just plug into the phone and the meter, and, in the app. choose your meter, and it downloads your reading.”Blogger on the Diabetes Connect social network, USA | [Source no longer available]

Guide for people with diabetes (and their carers) in the emergency administration of the Eli Lilly product, Glucagon.

“I think this app is a really good idea. The first screen shot shows the intro screen, detailing some of the features mentioned in the manufacturer’s press release. The second shows the ‘Home’ screen, and the third is a shot of the emergency instructions. I particularly think that the ‘Manage My kits’ log is a fantastic idea—since we’ve never used our Glucagon, I sometimes forget where we stashed it, and, honestly, I’m pretty sure it has expired. This app will allow me to set one or more reminders of the expiration date—one month before, two weeks before, and every day for the last week before the kit expires.”Bitter-Sweet blog, USA | http://bit.ly/RQb9vQ

“If you’re looking for an easy way to track your diabetes, and are obsessed with numbers, then this app just might be the Android app you’re looking for. The app will help you keep track of your diabetes, and is a robust diabetes management app with a lot of great features. It will help you to gain better control of your diabetes by tracking and storing key data and numbers that you can monitor in a journal, or on graphs. Another great thing about this app is that it will allow you to send the data stored in the app to your doctor. The app will also compute statistics, and much more. The app has a very basic and sleek layout, with a ‘dashboard’-style opening screen that lets you easily select a feature.”Free Diabetes Resources, USA | http://bit.ly/Q4xvLr

“A very handy app for people with diabetes that allows you to log glucose, meds, activity, and food intake. Well designed and graphically oriented, with graphs, log-in reminders, and the ability to sync information to your online account. You simply enter your information, then you can view all of your data on your free glucosebuddy.com online account.”Disabled World, USA | http://bit.ly/fNuPGI

“Simple, but very effective, way for people with diabetes to keep track of their blood-sugar reading. Great graphics.”North Shore Prostate Support and Awareness (North Shore PSA), Canada | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Non-speaking, simple, picture-exchange system that can allow people with autism to express their needs independently.

“Simple to use, and useful for those with autism. But you cannot create own categories. [Editor: Note that the app's latest update may have solved this deficiency.] ”Group specialising in carers, family and friends, UK | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

“The advantages of the app are: the agenda of the therapy is set by the user (with memos warning of the time to take the drugs). It offers a schedule for appointments, consultations, examinations, with advice about approaching events. The app also has a daily diary, with an agenda on which to record information and appointments. It lists health centres and pharmacies, and has much more information. It can manage multiple patients simultaneously. The disadvantages are: some typos exist in the names of drugs. And it has some incorrect information about the test centres.”Network Persone Sieropositive (NPS) [Network of Serum-Positive People] Emilia Romagna Onlus, Italy | PatientView survey, July 2012

Role-playing game (RPG) that offers the user ‘virtual’ rewards for having good personal habits.

“HabitRPG is a productivity app in which you get to insert your own metrics to measure yourself against. So, for example, as I have a connective tissue disorder, I need to ensure that my joints don’t get stiff. So, regular stretching is one of my metrics. Eating a certain amount of fruit per week is another. I get role-playing game (RPG) videogame-style rewards (experience points; avatar upgrades) for successfully completing these metrics each day/week/month.”Person with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Norway. | PatientView survey, October 2014.

Symptom and treatment diary for people with hereditary angioedema (HAE).

"This app allows hereditary-angioedema (HAE) patients to keep detailed records of their disease-related information, including emergency and physician contacts, as well as individual attack data. “Recording and tracking triggers and symptoms of HAE attacks can be an important tool in managing this disease,” said Chief Medical Officer Dr Burt Adelman of Dyax. “Understanding the frequency and severity of these attacks can be of real value to both patients and their treating physicians.” ... Developed by a team of patient-education specialists at Dyax, along with input from HAE patients, the ‘HAE Attack Tracker’ is the first iPhone app designed specifically for HAE patients. ... The app provides a reference for patients and physicians, allowing them to monitor HAE attacks, and track a number of metrics that could help in the management of the condition."US Hereditary Angioedema Association (HAEA), USA | http://bit.ly/1dXMr8H

Diary for people who have headaches, migraine, or ENT (ear, nose or throat) pain.

“Over the last few months I have been trying out a bunch of migraine-diary apps. I am seeing a new specialist in a couple of months, and I thought I’d try these apps to export some records for him. I think the apps have potential to be useful, but I have had issues finding one with an optimal feature set. A lot of them just seem to cease development or don't implement suggestions from reviews either. Anyway, I thought I’d give some input on what I have found. … As far as actually learning something about your migraines, there is one called ‘ecoHeadache’ that so far blows away everything I have tried. It not only has extensive diary features, but a good medication and therapy database that you can easily update. It keeps track of the how well each medication and therapy worked for each attack, and creates stats on how well they are working. It also has a triggers section, symptoms, and pretty much everything else you can think of. Other apps I tried do tough on these features, but on nowhere close to this level. So, on top of keeping records for the specialist, I really think I can learn something from using this app. I am actually kind of excited about it. Another big plus is it’s one of the few apps that allows you to input headache durations in days, not just hours. I am not sure why so many apps are missing this feature when so many people’s migraines last longer than 24 hours. … A lot of the free [apps I tried] were too barebones, and the interfaces really varied as far as intuitiveness. A lot of the pay ones didn’t have a feature set that matched the ‘ecoHeadache’ one, and cost more.”Patient, writing on Migrainepage discussion forum, November 2011, USA | http://bit.ly/1B2gt7k

Cost: Free for first 10 days; thereafter subscription based, cheapest being £3.74 per month for 2 years [approximately €5.39, $5.84]

Helps the user to learn meditation. Click on browser link to see how Headspace works or go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEpOF7vUymc

“The advantage is that the app allows people to participate in meditation, at a time that suits them. The disadvantage is that ongoing cost may put some people off it. ”Patient group specialising in mental health problems, UK | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Health Appointments developed by Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Sistemas de Informação em Saúde (CINTESIS) [Centre for Research in Information Systems and Technologies in Health], Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto; Medida, both Portugal

Helps a user prepare for medical consultations and appointments by planning what should be said and asked, and by advising what sort of information should be brought to the consultation.

"Reminder of hospital, GP, dental, and carer support, and other health/social-care appointments to be attended, as an add-on to a calendar, but with easy-to-use additions from a fixed menu, and a larger visual presence for people who are visually impaired."Representative of Crossroads Care, UK | PatientView survey 2012-2013

“Using Healthsome G provides daily results that help me stick to the plan I have worked out for me. No real National Health Service (NHS) support for what I am doing. When I suggested to my GP, I was told most people would not want to record like this, so it is not worth them offering anything. My type-2 diabetes, my blood pressure, my cholesterol are all controlled. I did not take medications. I researched, and, using apps, have won.”Person living with post-polio syndrome and type-2 diabetes, UK | PatientView survey, August 2014

Quick, simple, self-applied hearing test that does not require an appointment with a medical professional.

“Measures a person’s ability to hear someone speaking when there is background noise, similar to being in a crowded room. The app is free to download, and is a convenient way for people to check their hearing is within the normal range. Action on Hearing Loss Chief Executive, Jackie Ballard, said: “This is a fantastic new way to encourage people to value their hearing, and check it regularly. It offers quick results, and confidential advice from anywhere with a decent phone signal”.”Action on Hearing Loss, UK | http://bit.ly/N8naLP

“Heart Decide’s animation of the conditions and procedures, and of the 3D beating heart, has helped me understand my condition in a way I had not in my 30-plus years of seeing my cardiologist.”Person with a heart condition, USA | PatientView survey, October 2014

“The US food database is a bit too huge for my app. For this English-language app, I used an English version of the Norwegian food database. This fits on most devices. It would also be nice to have a database with foods in different proportions (for instance, an apple ‘per 100 gram’, or ‘per piece’). I know all that information is available in the US database, and I used that to make a more elaborated Dutch version.”The app developer, blogging on TuDiabetes, a social network of the Diabetes Hands Foundation (DHF) | http://bit.ly/MH6xw6

Provides a list of phrases and images that can allow people who have trouble vocalising to communicate some of their needs and feelings.

Recommended by AGE Platform Europe (AGE) and by the European Disability Forum (EDF) as part of the 2011 Vodafone Foundation’s ‘Smart Accessibility’ competitionAGE Platform Europe (AGE) and by the European Disability Forum (EDF) as part of the 2011 Vodafone Foundation | http://bit.ly/OWoFOo

Tool for recording and tracking the symptoms, treatment and experience of living with haemophilia.

“Novo Nordisk’s ‘HemaGo’ app was designed to be especially helpful for patients with inhibitors. It was developed to improve communication between haemophilia patients and their caregivers. Because treatment for inhibitors can be so complicated, the app makes it easier to keep track of all the details. The HemaGo app allows users to record information on all medications that patients are using, including over-the-counter meds. This gives doctors a better overall picture of the patient, which can help prevent possible negative interactions. HemaGo can also record how much factor is used, and the reason for each infusion. Another useful feature of HemaGo is that it lets you record other data about a bleeding episode besides just the basics. What was the level of pain? How did the bleed affect work, school, or daily life? Where was the bleed, and how long did it last? This info is valuable for evaluating treatment regimens. The data that you enter into the HemaGo app syncs with Novo Nordisk’s website, called ‘Changing Possibilities in Hemophilia’, and can be shared with doctors or healthcare teams. (The company’s website states that Novo Nordisk does not have access to patient-specific information. The company’s access is restricted to generic information—“de-identified”—in which the data has been stripped, so that the individual source cannot be identified, in accordance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules.) You can use the app to create customised reports through Changing Possibilities, and then print out or email the reports to your healthcare team. HemaGo also allows you to set up reminders on your phone for appointments or treatments, or log prophylactic treatments.”‘A Thread of Red’, Arizona Hemophilia Association, USA | http://bit.ly/1fqJoZm

“One patient’s solution. When Michael Schultz decided that logging his factor infusions was tedious, he took matters into his own hands and developed an app called ‘Hemolog’. The new app offers several advantages over paper (or even computerised logging systems). Your log is always with you, and can easily be e-mailed to your haemophilia treatment centre. ‘Hemolog’ also standardises entries, allowing users to simply touch a location on a map of the body. The app walks users through the logging process, and automatically fills in some information. Most importantly, it allows users to filter their data. For example, they can instantly create lists of every bleed in a particular joint.”HemAware magazine, 2010, National Hemophilia Foundation, USA | http://bit.ly/pJOK3m

"Simple and convenient way to find a local HIV testing service; can specify preference for a particular type of testing service."Recommended by NAM [originally the National Aids Manual], UK | PatientView survey, November 2013

iAdvocate developed by Alan Foley, School of Education, Syracuse University, USA

Instructs parents on how to liaise with schools and educational facilities, with the aim of ensuring that a child's needs are met.

"iAdvocate can provide immediate and specific responses during a CSE meeting when officials try to deny access to services. For example, during a district meeting when the school states "the academic gap is too large for your child to be educated in a general educational setting", the app gives a specific response, such as "according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), discrepancy in cognitive level cannot be the sole determining factor in placement”."Down Syndrome Association Hudson Valley, USA | http://bit.ly/1bbvasK

“It’s easy to tag your meter readings with relevant notes. The built-in database includes an impressive list of items like ‘air bubble’, ‘fatty meal’, and ‘light exercise’. You can set your typical meal times, and it will automatically tag your readings. If you change your schedule, it’s straightforward to correct the tag. The ability to easily capture more data about your diabetes life is important. It will allow healthcare providers to better understand why a patient’s readings are what they are, and make better treatment decisions. Who can look back seven weeks and remember that there was an air bubble in their insulin-pump tubing? Very few. Having this knowledge is an important step towards improving outcomes.”Diabetes Daily, USA | http://bit.ly/JS5BiK

Contains a video on how women should properly check their breasts for cancer. Is approved by NHS Choices as being safe.

"Being breast aware and regularly checking for the signs and symptoms of breast cancer is vital in detecting breast cancer at its earliest stages. It could save your life. iBreastCheck helps women be breast aware by directly addressing the reasons women don't check so often. It includes a video to show how, and a reminder so you don't forget. The information is evidence-based, and tested with women and health professionals."Breakthrough Breast Cancer (BBC), UK | PatientView survey 2012-2013

Allows people living with anger, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, or stress to record negative thoughts.

Allows people living with anger, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, or stress to record negative thoughts.

“iCouch CBT walks me through a complex process. It provides attention to the specifics of my problem, while using a structured way to get out of the problem. Allows for complexities, but relies on simple steps to do it.”Person living with mental health issues, Canada | PatientView survey, August 2014

Educational app intended to show the user how the UK-based charity Depaul UK works with homeless young people, and to give the user an idea of a typical young homeless person’s daily activities and requirements.

“We have been overwhelmed by the response to ‘iHobo’, by the number of people it has reached, and by the conversations the app has started. We are very proud of the awards which we have won. A huge thank you to all the people who have played ‘iHobo’, Tweeted, blogged, and talked about it, and made it such an incredible success.”Depaul UK | http://bit.ly/MeGRU3

"I have bipolar disorder, and this app has been extremely helpful in charting my moods, and the events surrounding them, so that I can better prepare for future events. It is an awesome app. I have recommended it to others, and they are using it, and getting benefit. My therapist is also using it. I print out a copy of my mood history, and my psychiatrist loves it. The app really helps him with managing my medications. Really great app. I have used it for several months, and I never last at anything that long. I don't see any drawbacks or weaknesses with the app."Person with bipolar disorder, USA | PatientView survey, November 2013

Utilises illustrations to give instructions or to ask questions, allowing a carer to converse more easily with people who have communicational difficulties.

"iPrompts is a mobile, visual support aid for the iPhone and iPod Touch. This app provides several picture-based prompting tools (no voice output) for caregivers to help individuals transition from one activity to the next, understand upcoming events, make choices, and focus on the task at hand."Autism Society of Illinois (ASI), USA | http://bit.ly/15aRjaN

Diabetes-management and personal-health app that allows a user to record and track personal health-related information.

“Asks the user to input certain data about their blood sugar and general health, and allows the user access to the visual representation of that data on their BlackBerry, or via email to their PC or healthcare provider. This visual representation allows you to have a daily view of your glucose levels. What’s missing from apps such as this is Bluetooth integration with an insulin monitor. I would like to see the developer partner with some large healthcare institutions to bring this sort of functionality, because automating and avoiding data input will make this app even better, and more effective.”Reviewer on the Diabetic Village social network, USA, linking to comments on the BlackberryCool online community for Blackberry users, Canada | [Source no longer available]

Iron tracker-Hemochromatosis developed by Developed by faculty and students at two Canadian Universities led by Dr. G. Grewal of the University of Guelph, and Dr. A. Hamilton-Wright of Mount Allison University, Canada

The App helps people with hereditary haemochromatosis (the Canadians and US spell it hemochromatosis) track their test results and venesection treatment

"While it is Canadian it is very popular in Australia as well and no doubt would be useful for people in UK, Ireland and parts of Europe where HH is prevalent."Bob Rogers, CEO of the Canadian Hemochromatosis Society | Email to PatientView, 2015

“Provides not only a pill reminder, but also CD4 and viral-load charting. While not intuitive, there is a way to record missed doses, too. I like this app, because it’s made specifically for HIV, with a database of all the current drugs available, built in. Just pick your meds, set the time, and go. I recommend it to all my poz friends.”Blogger on POZ Blogs, USA | Source no longer available

“This is a decent personal health record that offers other services, such as evaluating symptoms, finding doctors and facilities, and connecting to hotlines. This app is extensive, and offers an easy way to keep your health information with you wherever you go. It connects with Microsoft Health Vault (not a tool I really like), which is unique to some apps that do not connect to web apps where health information is already stored.”Patient group specialising in helping patients navigate national healthcare policy, USA | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

An app to help parents to track their baby’s sleep patterns and habits, and includes access to sleep professional experts.

“If you’re looking for a way to find out a bit more about your baby’s sleep, download the free JOHNSON’S® BEDTIME® Baby Sleep App. Use the app to track your baby’s sleep, listen to cool lullabies, and ask individualized questions through the Ask the Expert function. My team and I work hard to answer all questions within a day or two. It can be a great resource!”Dr. Jodi Mindell , a clinical psychologist, Sleep Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia commenting on the website of the Pediatric Sleep Council | http://bit.ly/2kjcoOh

Allows a carer to list their network of important personal contacts, and to share information with the contacts.

"It is well designed, and takes a person-centred approach to managing a circle of care. But it will not be useful to care-givers who are either not online at all, or who are not confident about using such e-tools."Sara Dunn, formerly of Mind, UK | PatientView survey 2012-2013

Helps people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) or end-stage renal disease (ESRD) make better decisions about diet. Although available on Android, the developer's website http://www.kidneydiet.com/ states the app is no longer available or supported.

“3.5 stars. A food-analysis tool for people with kidney disease. It tracks potassium, phosphorus, protein, sodium and fluid levels in various foods. Listed as one of the 10 best health apps by Yahoo. With kidney disease as its primary focus, this app could be very useful for people in early-stage kidney failure. It can help educate on the good food, the bad food, and the ugly food that tempts us all day, every day. Though it is unlikely to be used every day, setting up a typical meal week will provide an excellent guide for healthy eating. Then again, others may well use it every day.”Big D and Me dialysis blog, Australia | http://bit.ly/NizRsR

"Captures and records the user’s pulse (beats per minute), with a visual trace for evidence of atrial fibrillation (AF). Provides relevant information on why knowing the pulse is important (extend to AF). Enables comparison by the user of the recorded trace with examples of normal, tachycardia, bradycardia, and AF. Saves captured traces for future reference, for instance with healthcare professionals. Provides instructions at all stages of use. Enables sharing of traces via email and social media."

“Some people find the conversion from the old to the new HbA1c still difficult. Langerhans has therefore developed an app. Langerhans is a collective term for the educational activities of four diabetes doctors. Although Langerhans focuses on people working in the subject area of diabetes, this app also for people with diabetes. Interesting.”Diabetesvereniging Nederland (DVN) [Netherlands Diabetes Association], Netherlands | http://bit.ly/Tbtmoc

Video-gaming style of instructing people in how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

“An estimated 60,000 people each year in the UK have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and, sadly, less than 10% will survive. Yet, if a bystander is able to start CPR, they could double a person’s chances of survival. The Resuscitation Council (UK) has combined forces with award-winning production company UNIT9 to develop ‘Lifesaver’—a revolutionary new way to learn CPR … Lifesaver is a live-action movie you play like a game. It just happens to show how to save someone’s life. It throws you into the heart of the action, changing what happens in movies, showing real people in real places. … You learn by doing: do it wrong, and see the consequences; do it right, and sense the thrill of saving a life. And it is free.”Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK), UK | Source no longer available

Records the extent of a user's tremor via the smartphone's accelerometer.

“ ‘Lift Pulse’ 2.0, a smart phone app created by Lift Labs, has released the results of data gathered from users since updating the app in June 2013. Lift Pulse 2.0 includes a journal feature that measures and records tremors. It also records what medications you’re taking for tremor, and how you’re doing with sleep, exercise, and stress. The app stores your journal entries anonymously in Lift Lab’s private database. You have access to this data through your phone and computer, and Lift Lab analyses it to provide you with information on how different factors affect your tremor. Among the data extracted from users of Lift Pulse 2.0, Lift Labs found: the most commonly-used prescription is Propranolol (Inderal), followed by Primidone (Mysoline); exercise exacerbates amplitude of tremor; and people who reported less stress have less severe tremor symptoms. Lift Pulse 2.0 users have measured their tremor almost 4,000 times so far, and that number continues to grow, according to Lift Labs.”‘Tremor Talk’, International Essential Tremor Foundation (IETF) blog, USA | http://bit.ly/1opBDHc

Allows audio, images, and video relevant to cancer symptoms, and to life with cancer, to be stored in a logbook, and shared with carers, doctors, family, etc.

"A tool to overview your cancer treatment and your disease, and share the information with relatives. Allows near-by relevant events to be located and added to your own calendar and that of your relatives. A tool to manage checklists of questions to the doctor, the workplace, your relatives, etc. Has suggestions for common questions. It is necessary to be online to watch videos related to cancer treatment in the app."Kræftens Bekæmpelse [Cancer Society], Denmark | PatientView survey 2012-2013

Provides people who have hepatitis B or C with up-to-date information on potential drug interactions between hepatitis drugs and other drugs that the individual may be prescribed (also covers over-the-counter, recreational, and alternative medications).

“The University of Liverpool has launched an app, ‘HEP ichart’, that provides hepatitis patients with quick and easy access to the latest information about drug interactions. ‘HEP ichart’ is based on a website [http://www.hep-druginteractions.org] developed at the University. Professor Graham Foster, President of the British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL), said: “This new app, ‘HEP ichart’, is a timely and much-needed resource for HCV patients, as the number of new drugs which are available to treat hepatitis C increases”.”World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA), UK | Source is no longer available

Provides people with HIV/AIDs with up-to-date information on potential drug interactions between HIV drugs and other drugs that the individual may be prescribed (also covers over-the-counter, recreational, and alternative medications).

Utilises the audio output of the phone to speak words, phrases, and sentences, whether for emergencies, everyday activities, pleasure, or teaching.

"Combines location and vocabulary to produce efficient communication for individuals who have difficulty speaking. Locabulary is an alternative to bulky communication devices, with text-to-speech phrases under categories, including: ‘quick phrases’, ‘moods’, ‘assistance’, ‘restaurants’."Vermont Family Network (VFN), USA | Source is no longer available

Allows a door (when fitted with a Lockitron lock) to be unlocked without the need for a key.

“Knock, knock, who’s there? Sometimes it’s someone you’d like to let into your home – say a friend, family member or caregiver. But it’s tough to get to the door. Perhaps you want a plumber, repair person, or other helper to be able to come in when you’re out. Or you would like to avoid having to fumble for your keys when you get home. Now there’s a gadget designed to make your life a little easier. It’s called a ‘smart lock’. Visitors can use their smartphones to gain access to your home. Many of these new lock systems allow you to send a ‘virtual key’ to anyone you choose. Most models retrofit to an existing deadbolt lock, but others require that your door’s lock be replaced. … The ‘Lockitron’ goes right over the deadbolt on the inside of the door. It offers keyless entry. You lock and unlock your door with just a finger tap, and you can grant access to anyone you’d like, using the app. It can also provide keyless entry with the iPhone 4S or 5. It costs $179.”‘Cool Gadgets: Smartphone-Powered Door Locks’, ALS Association, USA | http://bit.ly/1L5Ezar

“ ‘LogFrog DB’ is one of the newer diabetes-management apps. For three bucks (less than a co-pay), you get a new spin on the diabetes app. They did away with the clinical feel of filling out charts and entering data, and designed a really visual, snappy, and enjoyable logging experience. ‘LogFrog’ also has great graphs, and export tools to help people analyse and share their data.”Blogger responding to a Diabetes Forecast article in Healthy Living Magazine of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), USA | Source is no longer available

Allows a user to set weight-loss goals, establish a daily calorie budget to meet them, and to record food consumption and exercise levels.

“I started using this food app called ‘Lose It!’ to measure food. The interface is really handy, and almost makes it fun to track. The little modes of entering data that it uses to track food are very easy to use; it uses the camera to scan bar codes; has little wheels to track serving size, so that if you eat half a doughnut, it’s easy to enter in. The database isn’t totally comprehensive; I’ve found a few things not included. But, perhaps using my experience, I’ve found things that seem close. So far, I’ve found the app very compatible with my lifestyle. When I started using it, just a week or so ago, I noticed that I would eat small snacks more often that I thought, turned my basals down, and ‘presto’, no jelly beans. I still have a few other things, but I’ve been pleased to have a handy way to track food. In some ways, it’s sort of handy to keep it separate from the diabetes gizmos (the pump, CGM, etc). I was sort of spooked this morning to check and find out that, yesterday, I had 137g of carbs on both ‘Lose It!’ and my pump.”TuDiabetes, a social network of the Diabetes Hands Foundation (DHF) | Source is no longer available

“The Lyfe app is the first and only mobile application dedicated to supporting those with Hodgkin lymphoma. Reflecting its content and purpose, the name Lyfe is a combination of “lymphoma” and “life.”

One of the unique features of the Lyfe app is the Community section. It allows patients and support-givers to share their stories, ask questions and connect with others who are dealing with similar circumstances—locally, nationally and around the world.Lyfe has insightful articles providing practical tips designed to help during all stages of the patient experience. It also includes information geared specifically to friends and family members who are providing help and support during this challenging time.”

Request to Forum users: "DS has 7 teeth, with 3 more on the way, and we have twice-daily meltdowns when it comes to brushing his teeth. He detests having the brush in his mouth, on his teeth, etc. He doesn't mind the taste of the toothpaste, but refuses to entertain the idea of cleaning his teeth. We normally end up having to pin his arms down. I am desperate for some ideas to make this process more fun and enjoyable for everyone." One reply: "We downloaded the Macleans Nurdle Time app for smartphones, and it has been our saviour. She loves brushing now."Parent, blogging on BellyBelly Forums (birth, conception, pregnancy, and parenthood), Australia | http://bit.ly/1cuqQal

“My number one, cream of the crop app for chronic pain sufferers is Manage My Pain. The app is basically a record-keeping tool for those in chronic pain, with free hosting of records on their servers to avoid losing data if your phone decides to throw a wobbler. I have used it for around 7 months now. At first, I had the free ‘Lite’ version, which became so handy that I needed up upgrade to the ‘Pro’ to allow myself the space for more records. Both levels of this app requires an account, but it is easily set up, and totally free to do. I found it very easy and uncomplicated to upgrade from Lite to Pro. The Pro version allows you to keep unlimited records of your pain, whereas the Lite version allows you ten at a time – which is do-able for the lighter user, or for someone who can really make the effort to blend reports a bit, to get the picture they need. I found it easier just to pay the extra to get the Pro version, and I’ve certainly got my money’s worth out of it. I would definitely recommend giving the free version a try, and seeing if it suits you. Sometimes, just being able to look at the timeline of results, and say “Well, x is obviously working”, helps you see the bigger picture of your pain when you’re struggling. Or if your pain is clearly increasing, it’s a visual record to show people who should be helping bring that level down – not just a tearful person turning up in A&E without ‘backup’ (as I have done). If I used this app to its full potential, and had a go with the reports section, I really think it could push my treatment forward, too.”Rise Above Pain blog, UK | http://bitly.com/12xNEVj

MappyHealth is the winning submission in a developers’ challenge, “Now Trending: #Health in My Community,” sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). Health officials can use data they get through the app to complement other health surveillance systems in identifying emerging health issues and as an early warning of possible public health emergencies in a community.Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, USA | http://bit.ly/1InGTT8

Cost: Free, full version on Apple and Android is £2.99 [approximately €1.11, $1.56]

Medication reminder.

Medication reminder.

“Med Helper Pill Reminder. This app reminds me to take my medication, and is very versatile (and more user friendly than FMAUKFibroMapp).”Person living with endometriosis and fibromyalgia, UK | PatientView survey, August 2014

Allows the user to have a live video consultation with a general practitioner

"I can use it on my computer, and connect with a doctor via videochat. Convenient to use, better than sitting in a waiting room. I can use Facebook to connect with others who have the same illnesses as me."Person living with a mental health problem, Canada | PatientView survey, September 2014

mediLexicon developed by Total Wireless Solutions Limited / Twistsoft, India

Collection of over 2,500 medical terms, explained and cross-referenced.

“The advantages: an efficient and modern way to access useful medical information, and to assist in navigating around basic healthcare issues. The disadvantages: weak quality of information and accessibility.”Local carers, family, and friends group specialising in providing support for people with a disability, UK | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Improves doctor-patient communication by helping the user answer questions that the healthcare provider wishes to put to them.

“Very easy to keep track of changes in symptoms, and, for instance, to evaluate treatments with easy-to-use daily reports. However, I have found it difficult to change the time setting when travelling in different time zones, and have been woken up in the middle of the night by a daily prompt.”Patient group specialising in neurological conditions, Sweden | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

“ 'Medisafe' helps me keep track of my medications, and when to take them. I have used many more health apps, but this one [and two others I have recommended to this PatientView survey] are the only ones I felt were worth the price, or I found myself using in the long run.”Person living with arthritis and Crohn’s disease, USA | PatientView survey, August 2014

Helps to manage medications by storing a list of the user's medicines, doctors and pharmacists.

"This app makes keeping track of your medications, well, simple. Add prescription and over-the-counter meds, doses, and frequency, as well as prescriber and pharmacy information. Set alerts to remind you to take your meds, or refill a prescription, and learn about possible savings on prescription drugs."Diabetes Forecast Magazine, American Diabetes Association (ADA), USA | http://bit.ly/Yq4g8d

Medication tracker that records the dates and times when over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medications have been taken.

“ ‘MedTracker’. It lists my medications, and gives a very audible reminder, even when in silent mode. It is a USA-based app, though, and it is also not very easy to use. If I want to skip a dose, for instance, it keeps reminding me I need to take the dose, even if I want to skip it.”

Allows a user to report any side effects of drugs, medical devices, and vaccines.

"For healthcare practitioners and the general public. Allows them to track alerts and report side effects of medications. Alerts users about new drug warnings through official FDA channels (such as 'MedWatch Alerts') and through informal channels (including news media). Using separate forms for the public and the medical community, this user-friendly tool reports information about drug side effects."Carcinoid Cancer Foundation, USA | http://bit.ly/18ZAAdM

“Provides a full guide to the disease, and information on the signs and symptoms. We want to emphasise the importance of people downloading our life-saving app. The app has many features, such as an interactive quiz which can test the user’s knowledge on meningitis, as well as providing information, allowing users to be aware of the signs and symptoms if they are unfortunately faced with the situation where meningitis may have struck. Downloading the app can, and will, save lives.”Meningitis Trust, UK | http://bit.ly/LOJzNp

Helps people with haemophilia track their condition and report progress to their doctor.

"It allows me, as the parent of a child with haemophilia, to quickly log when my son has been infused, and not have to keep a paper trail to show his doctors. It also has a reminder function for me (should we be out of our normal routine) that helps us remember that it is an infusion day. The app also allows us to upload photos of bleeds, to be able to watch what they are doing, and gives us information in graph form about my son's annual bleed rate. Finally, all of this information is communicated to my son's doctors, so that they can see what his body is doing, as well as check his adherence to his infusion schedule, without having to be in the office. The only drawback for us is that our pharmacy will not use the app, so that we could take advantage of using it for our monthly refills."Parent of a child with haemophilia | PatientView survey, November 2013

"There is a free app on the phone that supports taking medication. This is very good news for people taking daily medication and for caregivers of children or the elderly-this application helps to ensure regularity. You have to admit that the Smartphones and tablets are getting easier for us, and now it can help treatment."Fundacja Hipoterapia Na Rzecz Rehabilitacji Dzieci Niepełnosprawnych (Polish NGO that helps children with social difficulties) | Facebook

“Enables you to:. Record and monitor symptoms such as panic attacks, increased heart rate / nausea / dizzinessrate and monitor sleep quality / medications / triggers. Create a ‘careplan’ to keep you well – and what to do when if you are unwell. Set alarms for medications or exercise. Graph sleep, anxiety and mood. Email reports to yourself or a clinician. Receive information and news about anxiety disorders.”Patient organisation, Mental Health Foundation, New Zealand | https://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/get-help/a-z/apps-e-therapy-and-guided-self-help/

A means by which people with anxiety or depression can improve their mood.

“ ‘Mood Kit’ is the slickest of the cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) apps, and it has some nice features that make it easy to use and to personalise. The app is made by Thriveport and the authors are psychologists. The app is based around CBT ideas, and functions much like a daily thought record. The four main functions of the product are: 1. Increase participation in activities that lift mood. 2. Identify and change interfering thoughts. 3.Rate and track mood. And 4. Create journals to track thoughts, experiences, etc. The best features of this app are the scrolling data bank of feeling states, the library of cognitive distortions, and the reoccurring use of scales which let you rate intensity of a feeling or thought just by sliding your finger. Run through of the app: The ‘Activities Guide’ lets you sort through what is the easiest and what is the hardest for you (socialising, exercising, sleeping, etc), and prioritise which areas to target first. The ‘Thought Checker’ section asks you to recount a situation that was difficult, describe how you felt, and how much you felt that way. This is basic daily thought record material, but the app makes it easier for you by having a ready list of feelings to scroll through and choose, and a sliding tool to measure the intensity of the feeling. You then are asked to list your automatic thoughts in a clear and easy-to-understand manner. From there, the app takes you to a list of cognitive distortions (descriptions included) that you easily scroll through and click to choose. A section titled ‘Mood’ is a very simple but highly useful way to keep track of your daily mood. It’s simply a number rating from 1-10 (1 the worst, 10 the best) that you scroll through and select. You can add notes if you choose, but can also just quickly select a number. The app will track the numbers and chart them for you, providing a wonderful visual of your mood over time. The ‘Journal’ section is hard to use on an iPhone (for those of us who have a hard time typing more than a couple of sentences on the device), but easier on the iPad. It is a section for recording notes about mood, activities, thoughts, etc. This section is pretty standard. ‘Mood Kit’ is one of the best CBT apps I have seen. The mood-tracking ability (complete with graphs) is great, and the simplicity and ease of use make this app one that even the most reluctant user will have a hard time avoiding. I have used this app myself, and frequently recommend it to teens in my clinical practice.”Elisa Nebolsine: Cognitive Therapy for Kids, USA | http://bit.ly/1j3X15c

Musicians are often injured due to intensive daily practice. This application will help prevent injuries through tips on what to do or change at early stages of their medical conditions; when they begin to experience the first symptoms, but have not experienced irreversible tissue changes. Based on the cause, the affected area and the symptoms presented by the musician, the application gives advice to try to prevent the consolidation of the injury. The application does not make any diagnosis; nor substitute for medical advice. The app tries, if there is still time, to remedy a problem that is in its first stage.Fundació Ciència i Art, Spain | Source: PatientView Survey, May 2015

App used within parts of the UK National Health Service, enabling patients to track, monitor and manage their health, and choose to share data to share with healthcare professionals.

“Self-testing has allowed me to understand how warfarin works and helps me to stay in the ideal therapeutic range to keep myself as fit and healthy as possible. My readings are more consistent. It also helps me to follow a good diet and reminds me to avoid food and drink cause reactions like broccoli and cranberries. Previously it was a fortnight or a month between clinics and a fair bit can happen in that period. Now I can just test myself and ring the nurse for any advice.”

“This new app is really positive for anyone that is still working. It’s extended my working life really because…previously I was having to work around diary dates to get me to the clinic. Now I can test in the morning at home…I can test myself on the train going up and down from London….It’s given me quite a lot of freedom.”

“The ‘My Medication Passport’ is a written record of a patient’s medicines. It is designed to improve communication between patients, carers and healthcare professionals, and maintain a record of changes made to the patient’s medication. My Medication Passport includes: relevant information about the patient; relevant information about the patient’s GP/ other healthcare professionals; list of medicines the patient cannot take, and the reasons why; compliance aids in use; list of the patient’s current medicines; changes made to current medicines, and why; blank pages for the patient to record additional medical information, such as vaccinations, screenings etc.”Hillingdon Carers, UK | Source no longer available

"The first mobile app for carcinoid cancer and neuroendocrine tumor (NET) patients is available for downloading on the iPhone, iPad, and Android. ‘My NET Manager’, a free app by Novartis Oncology, offers patients a unique opportunity to track their symptoms, set reminders, access test results, and view important dates. The app includes a medication tracker, an insurance tracker, a place to list physicians’ names and contact information, information about NETs, including a glossary, and more. ... A ‘Contacts’ section offers the app user a place to list laboratories, doctors, pharmacies, and insurance companies.”Carcinoid Cancer Foundation, USA | http://bit.ly/1ndsoJz

Aims to help people with asthma (aged over 12) to manage their condition.

“Education for Health’s Chief Executive, Monica Fletcher, was one of a panel of asthma experts who helped develop the app, lending her expert knowledge to its design. The app aims to empower asthma patients, allowing them to better understand their condition, and address the personal barriers they face in managing asthma. As such, the app can generate tailored messages, and will facilitate more informed dialogue between patients and healthcare professionals.”Education for Health, UK | http://bit.ly/x7tEp3

A disease diary for dystonia patients to track and record symptoms and treatment.

“Dystonia Europe developed the MyDystonia app for patients. MyDystonia is an electronic diary created for people with the neurological disease Dystonia. By answering predefined questions (e.g. symptoms like overactive muscles or pain and impact on daily living) the user is able to examine and to visualise his/her well-being according to the treatment schedule.

MyDystonia gives the physician a reliable overview ahead of the consultation, helping to save time. It also helps the patient keep track of their symptoms and how effective their treatment is. This has led to improved communication and treatment outcomes.

The App was initiated, designed and developed by patients for patients. Dystonia Europe has the 100% ownership of the project, the database includes collected data from users of the MyDystonia diary.”

Helps people with haemophilia to record and track bleeds and infusions, and share the information with doctors.

“BioRx Introduces a smartphone app for tracking haemophilia healthcare information. … “ ‘MyFactor’ is the first haemophilia app from a specialty pharmacy,” said Eric Hill, co-founder of BioRx. “This creates a unique platform for BioRx customers and staff to more efficiently communicate, exchange detailed treatment information, and helps both parties to anticipate and plan for future needs.” Today, the vast majority of people with bleeding disorders receive homecare pharmacy and infusion services to help manage their day-to-day care. In moderate-to-severe cases, patients typically self-infuse and receive monthly shipments of their clotting-factor medication and infusion supplies. Physician visits may not be frequent, but interaction with the pharmacy is routine. Keeping track of haemophilia bleeding episodes and treatments (as often as 3 or 4 times per week) can become a burden to patients and caregivers, especially over time; however, communicating these events is important to monitoring for potential joint damage from repeat bleeds, determining the need for dose adjustments, and diagnosing other issues that may impact health outcomes. Bleeding-disorder patients and caregivers can use a ‘wizard’-style graphical interface on MyFactor to log details of treatments and bleeding episodes–including type, cause, location, levels of pain and severity. A unique feature of the app gives users the option to scan the barcode of almost any brand of clotting factor in order to record its lot number. Maintaining a record of lot numbers is particularly important in the case of product recalls. MyFactor can also generate historical reports in PDF and CSV formats at the touch of a button–customised by date range, keyword or event type. Reports from the app can easily be shared with others by selecting email addresses from the iPhone contact list, while access to the app can be password-protected on the device itself. Additionally, patients can use MyFactor to set up regular infusion reminders and alerts, add detailed notes, switch between multiple user accounts, and attach photos to show active bleeds, range of motion, or other information that may be useful to the healthcare team.”CheckOrphan, Switzerland and USA | http://bit.ly/1gghkXy

“Users are able to keep track of their caloric intake, as well as exercise. In addition, the exercise is included in the amount of caloric intake, so that people can see a direct correlation between exercise and caloric intake. ”Patient group specialising in learning disorders, USA | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

MyMedRec developed by Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada (ISMP)

Portable health record that can be shared with doctors or anyone else involved in a user’s healthcare.

“Excellent app that allows you to keep all of your medical information in one place—doctors, pharmacists, prescriptions, vaccinations. It even allows you to take images of your meds, to remember what they look like. ”Canadian AIDS Society (CAS), Canada | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

"This app is the complete package. Provides healthy insights, calorie counters, and helps you avoid foods that aren’t healthy for you. The app also helps you keep tabs on what you’re eating. Has a database of 1.3 million food and restaurant items, making it’s simple to keep track of everything that you eat.”Work School Eat Play blog, USA | http://bit.ly/QjFfxa

mySinusitisCoach developed by EUFOREA (European forum for research and education in allergy and airway diseases)

App to help people with Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS) to track symptoms and drug use.

“The app has been created by a multi-stakeholder approach. This means that from the design to the development, and also the dissemination, we have involved patients, medical experts, primary care physicians, pharmacists and also people from the ehealth community to brainstorm and consider how we would like to develop this app…We created an educational platform based on Frequently Asked Questions by patients.” Sven Seys, EUFOREA (European forum for research and education in allergy and airway diseases) | http://bit.ly/2DvihSh

Diabetes logbook that awards points for meaningful entries with the aim of 'taming the diabetes monster' by overcoming challenges. For quick access for your mobile see Qcard in screenshots.

“mySugr is an electronic diabetes diary that utilises a game platform to motivate users to track their diabetes data in a fun, unconventional format. mySugr doesn’t judge the quality of glucose variability, but instead rewards the user for participating. Earned points are tallied for gold stars indicated on a progress bar, letting users know how hard they’ve worked, and when they have beat their diabetes monster. For further motivation, mySugr offers challenges that can even result in donations to non-profit diabetes fund- raising and research organisations.”Diabetes Voice, September 2013, International Diabetes Federation (IDF), Belgium | http://bit.ly/1aG6bzP

I would like to introduce you to a smartphone app that can simplify how you manage your health – a digital assistant that helps you to stick to your treatment plan: MyTherapy. know exactly what you think: “Wow, just another pill reminder.” But MyTherapy is much more than that. MyTherapy is a health app that reminds you to take your meds, check your vitals and to get active. In short: with MyTherapy you have your whole therapy in one app. Therefore, the app translates your therapy into a simple to do list and motivates you to check off your tasks and to empty the list. The integrated scanner makes it easy to find your meds by scanning the barcode on your medication package. he built-in health report allows you to stay on top of your vitals. You can print your report and share it with your doctor. This is a great way for you to take your health into your own hands.Patient Enpowerment Network, USA | http://bit.ly/29iuMmp

"The National Public Toilet Map shows the location of more than 14,000 public and private toilet facilities across Australia. Useful information is provided about each toilet, such as location, opening hours, availability of baby-change rooms, accessibility for people with disabilities, and the details of other nearby toilets."Crohn's and Colitis Australia | PatientView survey 2012-2013

Directs parents of babies to the nearest public baby-changing facilities in the UK.

“Our ‘Babychange’ app uses the latest geolocation technology to let mums and dads easily find their nearest baby-changing facilities. The app allows parents to rate the changing room, so that others know if it’s a good, clean, changing facility. Parents can also add previously-unlisted locations via the apps interface. The app has been very well received by parents and NCT members, and has won several awards. It is easy to use, and parents tell us they love the fact that they are able to add new facilities when they find them, and to rate the ones they visit, so that other mums and dads can find their way out of a nappy emergency. Initially, the app did not allow users to add new locations when they were not actually there. However, the newest upgrade does allow you to recommend facilities even when you are somewhere else. Additionally, the biggest complaint we receive is that there is no version for Android, as of yet.”National Childbirth Trust (NCT), UK | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

NFL Play 60 developed by American Heart Association with National Football League

Game encouraging 9-11 year olds to do more exercise, running and jumping to lead a character through different challenges on screen.

“Getting kids away from their screens and moving their bodies can be challenging…Rather than just telling kids to get physically active for 60 minutes every day, it puts a fun, useful tool in their hands to encourage them to get moving.”

“The app is an interactive game that uses gyroscope technology in the smart device that requires players to physically run, jump, pivot and turn in order to make their on-screen avatar move. Along the course, players answer health trivia questions and can collect digital coins to redeem for NFL and AHA rewards.”American Heart Association, America’s oldest and largest voluntary organisation dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. | http://bit.ly/2ktq3CG

Tracks indoor and outdoor exercise activities, and indicates how many calories were burned.

“Assists in counting the calories burned when doing a particular type of exercise. Takes into account the speed of the exerciser, as well as the distance to calculate the total calories. ”Patient group specialising in learning disorders, USA | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Lifestyle planner for managing changes in nutrition and exercise regimes—one potential aim of which might be slowing the progression of diabetes, for instance.

“The American Diabetes Association of Washington has partnered with Numera, a leading telehealth and social media technology company, to reach the community with a new approach to wellness and diabetes management. The app is free, and available to anyone who would like to participate in health plans and challenges, to improve nutrition and exercise, to prevent or delay the development and progression of diabetes.American Diabetes Association (ADA) | http://on.fb.me/1pV9yXx

Aims to help people on oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) to monitor and control their medication routine.

“Atrial fibrillation (AF) patients who struggle to remember all the information about their medication, INR, and dosage times, could be helped by a new app. ‘OATBook’ allows users to set reminders for upcoming appointments, store all their INR scores in one place, and set dosage reminders for medication.”Atrial Fibrillation Association (AFA) International, UK | http://bit.ly/O2K3CT

“ ‘OnTrack’ is my favorite Android app. I tried several apps, but found them all either limiting, or too comprehensive. This is simple, and equates to keeping a diary. However, the neat feature is that it can record other things as well. I have blood-pressure problems, so I can record readings for blood pressure and pulse. Also, you can set up multiple medications. Before, I used three different apps that all worked differently. Now, I have all my medical stuff in one neat app. You can view the results in various formats, and you can upload the record book and graphs for any period you choose to a simple place like ‘Dropbox’. I highly reccommend this app.”Blogger on Diabetes.co.uk | http://bit.ly/LNShjA

"Orphanet, an INSERM service, allows you to access a list of rare diseases, their description and associated resources. Consult the emergency guidelines directly. Find contact details of expert clinics and professionals. You can bookmark pages and PDFs you want to find again in one click, thanks to a dedicated feature. It is also possible to annotate some of the pages. The data available on the Orphanet app are those obtained during its last update. To access to the most recent data, and make the most of Orphanet services on your mobile, update the app regularly."Orphanet | http://bit.ly/13DhOEg

Through the application, you can receive information about breast cancer and wellbeing as well as giving tips as to topics to discuss with their doctor.

“OWise is a website and iPhone app that gives you the ability to have all your personal information on breast cancer at hand. So it can all information about your situation in one place to put together to help you. The app was awarded by the Health App Awards 2013.”Borstkankervereniging Nederland (BVN) | http://bit.ly/1UPRKko

“It encourages monetary rewards for compliant users (those who exercise and eat well). Users can also lose money from using the platform. It is almost like bribing users to exercise.”Empowered patient, Australia | PatientView survey, February 2014

A research app to help understand why some people with Parkinson's Disease have different symptoms than other people with Parkinson's Disease,

“mPower (Mobile Parkinson Observatory for Worldwide, Evidence-based Research) uses the new ResearchKit software framework announced today by Apple to make it easy for people with Parkinson’s disease to contribute data to researchers investigating symptom variation. ResearchKit turns iPhone into a powerful tool for medical research by enabling participants to complete tasks or submit surveys right from the mPower app. This new software framework delivers a simple way to present study participants with an interactive informed consent process, which helps explain the study's purpose, how data will be used and the app's privacy policy.”The Michael J Fox Foundation, USA | http://bit.ly/1UOujGy

Provides information about Parkinson's disease, treatments, and living with the condition.

“Parkinson’s Central is a simple, yet powerful, tool that we believe will positively impact the health of people with Parkinson’s, wherever they live.”National Parkinson Foundation (NPF), USA | http://bit.ly/1IXyXg5

Enables phone calls to be made with a single touch to the smartphone screen.

“ ‘EasyCall’ is a free mobile phone app (application) designed to make using a phone keypad on a smartphone a lot easier. Basically, it enables you to call a phone number using just one touch.”‘Tips and Hints for People with Parkinson’s’, Parkinson’s UK, p.23 | http://bit.ly/1ooIn88

Designed to help medical professionals recognise the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), and then diagnose and treat the condition.

“We have produced an app designed specifically to help doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals. The app will inform them, and assist them with the diagnosis, treatment and control of Parkinson’s symptoms. Parkinson’s disease is quite difficult to diagnose, and this app is a great help. Helps manage Parkinson’s disease for patients.”Parkinson’s Association of Ireland | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Article on patients involved from the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association in developing the app

“With your help we at patientMpower have developed an electronic health diary (an “app”) which can be used by people with lung fibrosis to help them keep track of their symptoms and lung health.

The patientMpower app works on any smartphone or tablet device (like an iPad). The idea is that you use your mobile phone to keep a diary of various symptoms and other factors related to your lung health. For example, you can keep track of the number of steps walked each day or your level of breathlessness. If you have a connected spirometer, the breathing test information will also be recorded and the app can be used as a reminder to take your medicines each day. When attending clinic appointments, it may be useful to have this type of information to hand so you can tell the doctor or nurse about issues that may have been troubling you.

“A group of ILFA volunteers have tested the app with home spirometry in a user experience survey and given us useful feedback on their experience of the app. patientMpower want to thank these volunteers for their help in guiding us on how we can improve the app and its use with measurement devices (like home spirometers).”

“An example of web-based information which can support patient understanding of their health records is …Patients Know Best, which annotates test results using explanations from the Royal College of Pathologists, as well as allowing individual clinicians to link to local and international information sources.”Patient Information Forum, UK | http://bit.ly/1QQWYVp

Aims to give people with Parkinson’s disease (and their carers) real-time management of the condition.

Recommended by the developer, the Parkinson Association of the Rockies (PAR), USA . Also recommended by more than 40 other US Parkinson’s groups on Facebook-among them, the American Parkinson Disease Association, Washington Chapter, and the Parkinson Center of Oregon (PCO). PAR states on Facebook about this app. "PD Life is the first app assisting Parkinson's patients and caregivers with real-time management of the disease."Parkinson Association of the Rockies (PAR), USA | http://on.fb.me/oYSbrL

App helping people with Parkinson’s Disease to monitor changes in their symptoms and effects of medication.

“You can set your own personal baseline or use standardised scores so the app can tell you how you are doing on the different tasks that it has to offer. These include tests to monitor your memory, balance, reaction and time perception.

You can view your history and trends…The history shows how you did on different tests and the trends show your baseline, performance, PD symptoms, fatigue and medication over time… enabling you to continually monitor your performance with respect to when you took medication for example. There is also a ‘diary only’ option which allows you to simply look at your PD symptoms, fatigue and medication over time.”

“Empowers people to take control of their lives and emotional mental health as a first-line treatment approach. Fun, interesting, and easy to incorporate into everyday, busy life. Low expense for result. Drawbacks: cutting-edge in terms of structure/platform, but may take time to ‘catch on’ as a viable alternative to expensive treatment/therapy, as well as to pharmacology.”Master of social work (mental health problems), USA | PatientView survey, May 2014

“It doesn't matter if you live in Burbank or Buenos Aires, Barcelona or Beijing, now you can participate in awareness activations…” “Thanks to…the power of social media…phaware can now better reach out to patients, to the general public, to medical professionals and industry decision makers.”“Each time you share your selfie on your social media, you raise awareness to your inner circle. Each time you share it to the phaware365 app, you raise awareness globally. Each and every share helps bring PH from rare to everywhere.”phaware Co-Founder and President, Steve Van Wormer, whose son has paediatric pulmonary hypertension. | http://bit.ly/2larE0n

Simple method for non-speaking people of all ages to create visual, talking stories.

“Parents need to know that Pictello provides an easy way to create ‘social stories’ from the images and videos in your device’s photo library. Simply decide on a story topic with your child, and choose the ‘Wizard’ or the ‘Expert’ to guide you through the process. Know that your photo books can be shared through iTunes, Dropbox, or Pictello’s universal server. You’ll need to provide an email to join Pictello, but other users can only download your photo books if you give them a code. Kids can learn how to create stories that are relevant to their lives with Pictello. For example, they can express their likes and dislikes, communicate with others, and learn routines. What’s nice is that these stories are, by nature, very specific, and tailored to kids’ lives. If your child is having trouble transitioning back to school, or greeting adults, for instance, Pictello can be useful. In addition to self-expression, kids can learn a bit about the art of storytelling.”Vicki Windman, Common Sense Media—Advocating for Kids, USA | http://bit.ly/1hWXSUD

“Reminds you with PUSH alerts of when to take your pills. Tracks each of your medications by name, dosage and frequency to take. One point to remember when entering the dates and times taken for each pill, when you enter a time and dosage, remember to save each time your enter, otherwise it won’t remember. As it uses PUSH technology, you need to be in a WiFi reception area to receive the notifications, though. Pity it isn’t a stand-alone app, as if it were, then little or no WiFi reception wouldn’t matter.”Disabled Folk Cornwall, UK | [Website non-functional at time of this entry]

“I have used two free apps to remind me to take my meds. I started out with ‘Pillboxie’, which has a beautiful interface, and can handle all types of meds, including injection, oral liquids, and a myriad of pill shapes and colors. You drop the pills into a virtual pill box at the appointed time. This was great, and really helped me when I was on a twice-a-day medicine, and a once-a-day medicine. I now take two drugs once daily with food, which makes it so much easier: I just take my meds at lunch time. I still use an app to remind me, though.”Blogger on POZ Blogs, USA | Source is no longer available

Game in which the user attempts to infect the world's population with viruses.

"Tool to teach the public about outbreaks and disease transmission because of how it uses a non-traditional route to raise public awareness on epidemiology, disease transmission, and diseases/pandemic information. The game creates a compelling world that engages the public on serious public health topics."Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA | http://1.usa.gov/1IYB6Uw

"Here’s one app that caught our eye: the Sweetbee Platemate, from Belgium. The screen features empty dinner and salad plates, and a glass. You drag pictures of food items and beverages on to the plates and glass. You can resize food and drink items to fit your weight-management goals. Once you create your virtual meal, the app totals the calories, carbohydrates and more. This free app seems like it would be useful for anybody interested in weight management."Divabetic (online community for women with diabetes), USA | http://bit.ly/1a6Y274

Space-themed game designed to help cancer researchers analyse data on breast cancer.

"The world’s first mobile phone that allows players to analyse real genetic data from cancer cells. Called 'Play To Cure: Genes in Space', we’ve developed the game to help our scientists get to grips with a major challenge facing researchers today – too much data, and not enough time to analyse it. We wanted to do something that we thought would help us to speed up our research. What we found is the analysis of data needs to be done by humans and the only way of really speeding that up is by getting more humans looking at that data. We believe that by doing a mobile phone game we can create something which enables people of all ages all around the world to look at that data. Every level that you play, every couple of minutes, you will be helping to accelerate our research and help us to beat cancer sooner. Professor Carlos Caldas from our Cambridge Research Institute, whose lab have provided the data for the gamers to analyse, explains in more detail: "We’re generating massive amounts of data: in this particular project we profiled tumours from 2,000 different breast cancer patients, and for each of those tumours we obtain over 2,000,000 data points. To analyse that data using human input it would take thousands of hours. So instead what we did is we analysed the data using computers. And you might think that computers are absolutely precise – they’re very good but they’re not 100% precise. The human eye is very good at recognising patterns, and at recognising changes in patterns. So what we hope is that by having people play the game, what they’re doing is using the data that we used to generate the new breast cancer classifications, that they will refine the precision of the calls and therefore refine the identification of new breast cancer genes. So they have the element of the game that is just playing a game. But to play the game - in order to enable the starship - they have to collect this 'substance alpha'. And when they go and collect substance alpha, without knowing what they’re doing, what they’re really doing is analysing the data. By calling where there are gains and losses - so the peaks and the troughs in the data - they are effectively helping us find and map the faulty genes. That information is collected through the computer from each of these players. Many players will look at the same data and we will be calling data from the same tumour, so we hope that by the crowd-sourcing that we will refine the precision of the calls. By navigating through the data, effectively displayed to them as this cosmic dust, what they’re doing is really routing and tracing precisely where there are flat copy numbers - where there are gains, and where there are losses – and they are also identifying where the breaks occur; where from one level you have a gain and then it has a loss and those co-ordinates are registered when they put a dot in their computer. Without realising, they’re giving us the co-ordinates where they think the breaks are occurring." "Cancer Research UK | http://bit.ly/1kkvgpg

Tracks pollution levels of cities and how these levels might evolve in the next hours. Tracks 200 cities worldwide.

On May 13, the start-up launched the Plume Air Report, a mobile application, free, to follow hour-by-hour the background pollution level in sixty cities. The application includes a tracker for Paris, where it has attracted more than more than 10 000 users.Fondation du Souffle | http://bit.ly/2bQbtyz

Simple, one-page, slide-bar app that allows a user to convert A1c level to estimated average blood-glucose level, and vice-versa.

“It doesn’t give you the capability to log anything in the system. It does give you the opportunity to get an average of what your A1c is going to be. That is pretty cool, because, sometimes, you don’t want to go to the doctor’s, and be blind-sided. What you do is, you take your average blood-sugar levels, enter it into the app, and it gives you the average of what your A1c may look like. It also gives it to you in mg/dL and mmol/L, so it’s not just American—you can convert it. Another good thing I like about this app is that it is free. One of my two favourite apps that I use to manage my diabetes.”Video blog by a person with diabetes on the WellThen.org blog, USA | [source no longer available]

Alternative communication solution for people who have difficulty speaking.

“To date, I can only recommend ‘Predictable’. I am very optimistic about the use of apps for service users who have limited verbal skills, and can use hand-held devices as an augmentative communication tool. But I have some concerns about how funding for such apps (and the necessary hardware) will be sourced.”National group specialising in disability, Ireland | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Scans and recognises text documents, bills, business cards, whiteboards, etc, then allows the text to be shared across computers and with other people through the ‘cloud’.

“Good for reading disabilities. You can take a picture of text, crop it, and use to scan a document, and also use text-to-speech, to hear the text. ”Patient group specialising in learning disorders, Canada | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Text-oriented alternative communication tool for people who are literate but have difficulty speaking.

“This is Proloquo4Text, an augmentative-and-alternative communication (AAC) program for Apple devices. It does only text, unlike Proloquo2Go, and stays on a single page. It has word prediction, sentence prediction, and a side panel of pre-written words and sentences. It’s cheaper than Proloquo2Go. You might be interested in this if you need AAC with good word prediction and high-quality voices, but not have to pay for picture symbols you’re never going to use. The colours and fonts are customisable. I’m using it for my word-based communication, and Proloquo2Go for my picture-based communication, because it has always been hard for me to switch between picture and word modes on Proloquo2Go (a cognitive problem, not a fault of the program).”Social Skills for Autonomous People blog, USA | http://bit.ly/1j64pfN

An app which helps people live with memory problems such as early dementia or as a result of stroke or brain injury.

The app was developed with the help of “volunteers recruited from Alzheimer’s Cafes, community support groups and Headway, the brain injury charity.”Mary Matthews, Developer, who worked with patient volunteers during face to face testing of the app | http://bit.ly/2ivfy1g

When used with a matching bluetooth inhaler sensor, records usage of reliever inhaler by people living with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In 2015 the app obtained U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance to market its Propeller platform in association with medications using GlaxoSmithKline's Diskus® dry powder inhaler (DPI) device for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and Boehringer Ingelheim's Respimat® inhaler for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

“Using a special GPS-enabled device that attaches to an inhaler, Propeller Health (formerly called Asthmapolis) automatically records the time and location when asthma patients use their inhalers. This data is transmitted to the patient’s doctor, while collective data is available to asthma researchers and public-health agencies. It maps and tracks asthma symptoms, triggers, and the use of rescue and controller medications and other important events from any phone. You can also receive text message reminders when you forget to use controller medication, and review streamlined versions of your asthma map and charts on the phone.”Carcinoid Cancer Foundation (CCF), USA | http://bit.ly/1gTTw0L

Contains a trio of facilities for people with psoriasis (and their carers): a calculator to assess the severity of the condition; a questionnaire on the impact of the condition; and a newsfeed on dermatology subjects.

Recommended, as part of Psoriasis 360, by the European Federation of Psoriasis Associations (EUROPSO), GermanyRecommended, as part of Psoriasis 360, by the European Federation of Psoriasis Associations (EUROPSO), Germany | http://bit.ly/NnEnTf

App designed to help people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to manage their condition.

“Knowing the facts about PTSD can make a real difference in the lives of those who need support.

PTSD Coach provides service members, veterans, their friends and families with dependable resources they can trust. Many service members who experience PTSD symptoms can benefit from care and support, but some fear that they may be considered weak or that leaders or unit members might lose confidence in their abilities if they seek care. The information available through the PTSD Coach app can help service members and their loved ones overcome those concerns and obtain accurate information about PTSD and find the support they need.”

Real Warriers Campaign, organised by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE). The organisation collaborates with a civilian agencies and advocacy groups. | http://bit.ly/2lyqGMf

“We highlighted the story of the person who developed the ‘Qcard’ app in the 2012 issue of ‘OBIA Review’ [http://bit.ly/OSX2Gf], which is our quarterly magazine. Designed by a survivor of acquired brain injury (ABI) for ABI survivors, ‘Qcard’ assists people who aren’t organised to become organised, and helps those who forget to remember. This life-management app is the ultimate in memory and organisation. Please note that the app does take some cognitive skills to use. It has just been released.”Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA), Canada | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

Allows carers, family and friends to form a network, keeping in touch to arrange the care of a person or patient who needs help. Already available to 7 million people in the UK.

"Neurosupport, in partnership with the Walton Centre and the 5 Boroughs Partnership are promoting Rally Round to improve the support of carers of people with dementia. "Rally Round is an online support network designed to make it easy for you to organise help so that someone close to you can stay independent longer. It's free, safe and private. Neurosupport's Information Officer, Kathyrn Topping, is able to offer help and advice to individuals and groups who would like to start using Rally Round. She can offer one-to-one help in setting up an account and is also available to give talks and demonstrations of the website to groups. Please get in touch to arrange a visit or for more information. Rally Round can be used to support people in a wide variety of situations, over a short or long-term, including those with, or caring for, people with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Dementia, Mental Health conditions, Cancer, Stroke rehabilitation, recuperation after illness etc"

Provides information on how to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), with a particular emphasis on aiding victims of choking.

“Thought I would share this, as I can’t recommend this app enough. Very simple, short videos show you exactly what to do in an emergency. They have options for adult, child and infant in a choking/CPR situation. Hope no one ever needs it, but it is great for peace of mind.”Baby and Bump forum, UK | http://bit.ly/QERIcJ

Tracks the user’s remaining amounts of medications, displaying a countdown of the quantities left, and indicating how many days, weeks, or months, remain of each medication.

“Simple, but very effective, way for people to keep track of their blood-sugar reading. Great graphics. More than half of the patients with whom we are familiar use the app.”North Shore Prostate Support and Awareness (North Shore PSA), Canada | PatientView survey, July-August 2012

“4 stars. This is a comprehensive app that covers the spectrum of information which a patient with kidney disease needs to manage their condition. As a complex app, it has learning curve. But it is easy to start with small entries of things you know (such as food preferences and medications), and to expand as other information arrives (such as lab results). The app is for kidney disease only—no specific dialysis data is collected. Naturally, as a logging tool, it is most appreciated by the anal among us, though it is likely that the charts and trend information may justify maintaining your data. Time will tell whether it is worth the money.”Big D and Me dialysis blog, Australia | http://bit.ly/NizRsR

App that creates a direct connection between hearing aids and content from some android devices, iphones, ipads, ipod touch, and Apple Watch

“…what’s interesting about GN Resound is that all their wireless hearing aids…can connect to your smartphones and tablets wirelessly, allowing you to hear the tinnitus masker straight into your hearing aid. In fact, it allows you to hear any audio output from your smartphone and tablet through your hearing aid.The GN Resound LiNX and LiNX2 premium hearing aids can directly connect to your Apple smartphones and tablets and some Android models; other hearing aid models and Android devices currently require either the GN Resound Phone Clip or the GN Resound Mini Mic as a connector.The Phone Clip functions as a remote control in addition to connecting to your phone, allowing you to easily change the programme function on your hearing aids as well as allowing you to stream music or any other form of audio directly into the hearing aids. The Mini Mic allows you to gain better speech understanding in noisy places by reducing the distance between yourself and the sound source, allowing you to hear the speech more than the noise – similar to a loop system. The Mini Mic can also connect directly to your smart phone or any audio output socket using a wire to stream the sound directly to your hearing aids.Other hearing aid manufacturers have similar capabilities but most require an additional bluetooth streamer to connect your hearing aids to a smartphone.”Jesal Vishnuram, Technology Officer, Action on Hearing Loss UK | https://www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/community/blogs/our-guest-blog/the-big-noise-about-tinnitus-apps.aspx

Game that utilises the principle of crowdsourcing to allow the users to help UK-based cancer researchers analyse cells.

“Create a magical world, save a race of adorable minions, and help our scientists analyse real cancer data—all through a puzzle game on your mobile. In ‘Reverse the Odds’, you help the ‘Odds—colourful creatures whose world is falling into decline. By completing mini puzzle games and upgrading their land, you can restore the Odds back to their lively selves. But it’s not just the Odds you’re helping. We’ve incorporated the analysis of real cancer data into the game. Our scientists have huge amounts of data, and it needs to be analysed by human beings—computers aren’t good enough at recognising the patterns required. By incorporating data analysis into Reverse the Odds, we can get thousands of players to help our scientists learn more about different cancers, including head and neck, lung, and bladder cancer. You’re analysing in the same way researchers do, but because there are a lot more of you, we can get through data much more quickly, freeing up more of our researchers’ valuable time, and unveiling clues about cancer sooner. Citizen science is all about getting as many people involved as possible, so don’t worry if you’re not always 100% sure about what cells you can see. Sometimes even researchers disagree. That’s why they have back-up mechanisms in place, and we do, too. Lots of other people will see the same pictures as you, and we have checks in place to spot wayward analysis. The images you’re seeing are magnified samples of real tumour tissue donated by former patients. By answering simple questions about this data, you’re helping our scientists to learn more about cancer, and more effectively prescribe the most appropriate treatment options for future patients.”Cancer Research UK | http://bit.ly/1DmQVpb

By tracking RA symptoms day-to-day, RheumaBuddy is meant to help you discover patterns and then figure out what you can do to influence the disease in a more positive direction yoursel, and thereby gain a greater control of your RA.

"All young people with rheumatoid arthritis are now getting the tool we have longed for - a digital tool that can register the variations in the RA between visits at the rheumatologist. It is very important for young people with RA to have an overview and take control of the symptoms, and in combination with the buddy-feature, the app has a huge potential of becoming enormous beneficial not only for the individual patient but also contributing to a much better program of treatment. We are very proud of this project."

App to help visually-impaired people to navigate step by step following voiced guidance.

“GPS has been available on the iPhone for some years now, however flipping between apps which provided separate components to the independent traveler's need for information was necessary…This is the first time that I feel I can use one app for all my GPS requirements when on the go.”Ibrahim, user of app, Peterborough UK | http://www.rnib.org.uk/rnib-navigator-–-app-month

Addresses a way for teens to manage stress and feelings of depression.

The Safe&Sound app concept brings mental health awareness and resources for teens. Inspired by personal experiences and recent school shootings—including one in their home state—the team knew that the app could help teens express their feelings in a safe way and reach out for help when needed. Features for this app include daily stress management, information on stress, anxiety, depression, journaling, and resources. Safe&Sound will be a functioning, downloadable app by June 2015.Mental Health America, May 2015 | http://bit.ly/1G7akeh

Aimed at helping children with Down syndrome improve their speech development.

“ ‘See and Learn’ makes it easy to support children with Down syndrome at home, in individual and group-therapy settings, and in the classroom. See and Learn offers activities designed to promote the development of language, reading, speech, memory and number skills. See and Learn is a range of resources to support learning for children with Down syndrome. See and Learn is developed and published by Down Syndrome Education International–a world-renowned leader in providing evidence-based information about the education and development of children and young people with Down syndrome. See and Learn uses structured activities that make full use of the children’s strengths as visual learners to help them learn more successfully.”Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group (HDSSG), UK | http://bit.ly/1FuENBK

Word game to help people with a brain tumour remember and recognise words.

“ ‘SeeWord’ is a game we developed for both iOS and Android, designed to exercise your brain. Up to 50% of all profits from the game are donated to both our foundation, as well as other leading brain cancer research foundations. When my mother was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), her tumour appeared in the area of her brain that is responsible for word recollection and recognition, so it was imperative that she kept her mind engaged with tasks that exercise it. That’s when I had the idea to design and develop SeeWord, to help her and others like her exercise their minds in a new, fun and unique way.”Thompson-Mason Brain Cancer Foundation, USA | http://bit.ly/1mJinD5

Series of self-help guides on common mental-health issues. Note despite the name the app is also available on the Android platform.

"Self-help guides from Mental Health North East's (MHNE) award-winning patient information centre. There are over 20 guides or directories, covering a range of mental-health issues (such as anxiety, depression and stress), and can be downloaded to your device. The directories also signpost users to useful (local) services. Each directory provides a brief description of local services, along with contact details. Three of the directories are aimed at carers, people experiencing mental health issues, and ethnic minorities."Mental Health North East (MHNE) | Source no longer available

56 coeliac-friendly recipes for people with gluten intolerance (many of the recipes in several serving sizes).

“Shows you which products are safe to eat. Being able to get a list of products in categories that are safe is invaluable.”Coeliac UK, Beds and Mid Herts branch, UK | PatientView survey, July-August 2011

A collection of the work of 12 photographers who have a connection with Down’s syndrome, and a photographic representation of people with Down’s syndrome.

“The ‘Shifting Perspectives’ photography team continues to break down pre-conceived ideas about people with Down’s syndrome, highlighting the individuality of every person with Down’s syndrome, challenging attitudes and prejudices, and examining alternative representations of both adults and children. The new app showcases all the work produced by the ‘Shifting Perspectives’ team since its inception in 2003. The app makes this important body of work available to an even-wider global audience.”Down's Syndrome Association, UK | http://bit.ly/RDgJGL

“ ‘Shop Well’ allows me to scan the universal product code (UPC) of some food items, and I can set up specific parameters for it to search by.”Person living with coeliac disease, USA | PatientView survey, August 2014

“The app is well made, and attractive. For users of the app, a PC is a must, so that you can go read the data or statistics. But even for people who do not use the PC version, the app is a fully mature and good diary, though you must not forget those that the app does not export. For this, one would need the ‘SiDiary’ online data-print function, (not PDF, text only), and, therefore, it is only natural to synchronise the data to the Internet version.”Diabetes-Index of Diabetes Zentrale e.V. | http://bit.ly/rnOBK6

A tool for learning a basic sign language called ‘Signed English’, or ‘manually-coded English’ (MCE).

“Once the desired sentences, phrases, words and letters are typed in, a 3D avatar signs for the user. Everything the user types is saved in history, and used as shortcuts. The 3D avatar can be adjusted for speed, zoomed in or out and rotated to provide the best vantage point for every sign. The ‘Sign 4 Me’ library includes more than 11,500 words, and is growing. This app is an easy way to ensure efficient communication between the hearing and individuals who are deaf/hard of hearing.”National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Massachusetts, USA | http://bit.ly/MGxnnZ

“Not sure how much I like this or not, as I doubt whether two of my melanomas would have been of concern. But it is a conversation piece, at least. And if it makes even one person more aware, and sends them to a dermatologist, it’s probably worth it.”Blogger on Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) forum, USA | http://bit.ly/P7Uvvt

“ ‘Sleep Cycle’ wakes you according to your sleep cycle, which it monitors throughout the night. It uses vibrations and sound to wake you from the lightest possible sleep. ”Canadian AIDS Society (CAS), Canada | PatientView survey, July-August 2012